n=10;
Good news in the longest time - no side-effects observed in the volunteers who were administered the Covid vaccine which is moving from phaseI to phase II trials.Also, the union health minister said that “The COVID-19 will significantly come under control by the Deepavali this year. The leaders and common people effectively worked together to fight the pandemic.”
Which is just splendid, something is afoot and chasing this virus that has buggered us longer than we could imagine and I think it’s got to do with the fact that we don’t have enough competition now, just the US and Brazil trying very hard to keep the numbers up while rest of the world fades back to normalcy - it’s all so bland.
Splendid. I say about the vaccine. That’s pretty soon, almost as long as it takes to make a good Mango pickle! The question really is, how many trials would it take, before it is certain that the patient-leaflet that comes with this vaccine, carries all possible adverse-effects and leaves out none which are unknown?
Speaking of patient information leaflets that come with drugs, medicines, vaccines and all and also information on the internet, if I read any of them and took it seriously, I would never have the drug in question.Imagine, having a persistent pain due to an injury or just old age kicked rheumatoid arthritis and you reach for the friendly neighbourhood NSAID (take your pick) but this time you decide to read about it before you send that tablet down the food pipe.And all is well till you reach the side-effects, which Are classified as mild and adverse, almost saying, take a bet.
And of course, you need to be aware about your body and yourself.For instance, for one of the drugs, it says “Speak with a doctor or pharmacist before you start taking it if you have a serious problem with the way your liver works, or if you regularly drink large amounts of alcohol.”Now, firstly, I do not have a serious problem with the way my liver works, I’m just glad it does but would that mean it works well? Secondly, how often is regular and how much is large amounts of alcohol? I mean the answers would vary widely if you did a survey across 4-5 states of India.
And then it goes on to say :“If you are taking medicines prescribed by a doctor.”Well, this is India, here we choose to change the medication at will or based on word of mouth - even if the doctor does or does not prescribe.So, I might be taking medication which is not prescribed by the doctor or was prescribed several years back and every time I have the same symptoms as the ones I did last time, I go for the medicine I took back then.So, go figure.
Now, the possible, common side-effects of one of the NSAID, Diclofenac, as listed on one of the sites, range from indigestion, gas, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhoea to abnormal lab tests, increased blood pressure or swelling or pain in arms or legs.
As for the adverse effects, it says - “stop using this medicine and call your doctor at once if you have the first sign of any skin rash, no matter how mild, flu-like symptoms, heart problems, kidney problems, liver problems, etc.” And I kid you not, the symptoms of adverse effects are hard to differentiate from those of mild side-effects.Which means, one could Have an itchy bladder or a botched up kidney - wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. So what gives ?
Now, that does paint a sick picture but you get the drift - I would not like to be the person that falls in the 0.001% as a statistical number, who had an adverse affect out of my desire to quell a pain somewhere in my person.I mean, imagine taking a pain-killer before going for a run and then sitting at the corner of the road, holding your stomach or barfing to glory or worst, wanting to go! However, I have never considered any of these possible side-effects as worrisome or deterrents for me to swallow one for the road.
It’s actually kind of like smoking, only worse because smoking is a vice, an indulgence which, as has been told to all of us - leads to crappy insides due to cancer and what not. Showing pictures of those on packs of cigarettes have not stopped many a people, from lighting up a pack a day in smoke.
So, this vaccine, whichever one wins in a hurry, and I’m sure you’ve read a WhatsApp joke or two about the one developed in Russia, is not going to be thoroughly tested out and it will lack exhaustive details on the kinds of effects and contraindications it could have on different folks but even if it did and listed out a bunch of possible reactions - would you prefer wearing a mask and not hugging friends to taking a shot?
PS:
If you want to check out the history of vaccines, have a look here https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline/all
Adverse effects of flu vaccine which has become mainstay, https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/tools/Influenza_Vaccine_rates_information_sheet.pdf?ua=1