Margaret Wright: Research project to discredit COVID vaccines a waste of time and money
I was surprised and disappointed to read on Dec. 24 that the governor's office supports providing funds and resources of the University of Florida for Dr. Joseph Lapado to do some kind of research on “healthy" people who died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. This is the same person who was seen on national TV on the steps of the state Capitol repeating early misinformation about the pandemic treatment.
Apparently the doctor is trying to tie the vaccine to adverse effects, such as shingles, appendicitis, coagulation disorders, acute cardiac injuries, Bell's Palsy and encephalitis.
What's interesting is that the shingles virus remains in most individuals who have ever had chickenpox. It often develops in individuals who have not received the series of shingles vaccinations. As for appendicitis, it often just happens without any reason. Coagulation problems can often appear suddenly in otherwise healthy individuals, whether receiving a vaccination or never having one. Bell's Palsy affects the facial nerves due to unknown causes but is frequently related to cold and viral infections, as is encephalitis.
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Most of these conditions have been circulating in the general population for many years prior to the production of the COVID-19 vaccine. The links to myocarditis were only related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which isn't widely used anymore, per the article.
The only clinical research study cited by Ladapo was conducted at a German university, where just four out of 35 people who received the COVID vaccine died suddenly without any known acute illnesses. So it would seem that there is little evidence that a costly research program should be funded to investigate an outcome that has proven positive for thousands and thousands of people.
In college I took statistics and learned an important fact: Any research study can be set to a narrow focus in order to produce a desired result. Most vaccines throughout history have met with some early resistance because of bias and not understanding how they work. Vaccines prevent spread of infections and diseases. Any drug or medication (or even common items such as nuts, shellfish and bee stings) can cause severe side effect reactions to some but not for the majority of those receiving them.
I would suggest that instead of spending so much time and money on such a narrow, biased study, why doesn't he work on finding a cure for the common cold? It can also kill healthy people every year.
Margaret E. Wright, RN, Jacksonville
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Little evidence to support costly research on adverse vaccine effects
