HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said there is ‘much more to fear’ from the virus than from the AstraZeneca vaccine

This morning.

On Newstalk Breakfast.

HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said:

AstraZeneca vaccine is a really good vaccine. I know there was bad publicity, and talk and concern over what have been a very small number of cases.

I’d say to anybody aged 60-69 who has been offered the AstraZeneca vaccine: take it. You have much more to fear from the virus than you do from the vaccine.”

He said the blood clotting cases are ‘extraordinarily rare’, and has ‘rarely ever’ been reported in older people – hence why its use has been restricted in younger cohorts.

Meanwhile…

Oh.

This morning

Meanwhile..

Dr Henry said officials are also looking at whether the gap between Pfizer vaccine doses can be spread out so more adults can get their first dose quicker.

He explained: “For the Pfizer vaccine, if you look at the strict licensing of the drug, you’re allowed to give the second dose up to 42 days… but the current advice we have is up to 28 days.

“The real-world evidence… is [there’s] substantial protection after the first dose. That is not an excuse not to give the second dose, but it may well give some leeway.”

Over 60s ‘have much more to fear’ from virus than from AstraZeneca vaccine – Henry (Newstalk)

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43 thoughts on “Take It

  1. JoeyJoeJoeShabadoo

    Genuine question, is there any logical reason for people in their 20/30/40’s to get the vaccine if they don’t have a serious underlying condition

    I fail to see any reason why people in their 30s with nothing wrong with them would rush to take something that we’ve no way of saying for definite if there will be some minor, major or no side effects down the line

    Is there any advantage to this cohort getting the vaccine if all vulnerable people are vaccinated?

    And is it worth it if you apply a risk / benefit analysis on it?

    1. Micko

      No. No point at all.

      In Ireland we’ve lost less than one person a week under that age of 45 to /with Covid. 52 people in more than a year.

      It’s a minor risk.

      Also, I see the Pfizer man has said you will now need a third jab.

      “Pfizer CEO says third vaccine dose will ‘likely be needed within six to 12 months”. https://www.thejournal.ie/global-covid-19-5411811-Apr2021/

      So ummm yeah. Annual jabs lads! Woohoo!

      This thing is getting more and more like the flu everyday ;-)

      1. Liam

        if it ends up like the flu, great.

        AFAIK the risk of not vaccinating the younger generation is that it becomes endemic in the population and you end up with far more mutations. It only takes one of them to be resistant to the existing vaccines for this whole shitshow to kick off again.

        Israel is at 80% vaccination and the virus has been nearly eliminated.

        As for the AZ vaccine, as a 40something male, I say “stick it in my arm!”

        1. Micko

          What about kids?

          What about the fact that these mRNA vaccines only have 6 months of testing in humans? Dec 2020 was the first time they were ever given.

          What about the fact that both the delivery technologies for these vaccines were pretty much given up in as a proven tech pre 2020 (Alick our local virus expert can confirm)

          Too many risks for younger people. Save the older gen with a vax, but protect the youngest from possible long term side effects.

          It’s too great a risk to out on our kids. Young people have already given up so much to protect the elderly.

          Do we want them to risk even more?

          1. eoin

            Pfizer announced you’ll need a regular booster shot now. For life? Does that go for children too? Also in recent news you can get boosters from any of the pharma companies no matter which initial shot you got…..so I guess all these vaccines are basically the same?

          2. alickdouglas

            Indeed I did say that the other day; that said, they were consigned to the sidelines more because the vaccine industry is overseen by boring aul bean counters than because they are fundamentally bad science as such. If the industry was more interested in combatting pandemics they really should have evaluated these technologies more thorougly before now (kudos as far as I’m concerned to Curevac, Moderna and Janssen who kept on evaluating the technology).

            On the testing, I’ll say it again; most vaccine trials stop at about 6, or sometimes 12 months of follow up. When you look closely at a 10 year drug development plan you’ll see that none of the subjects (or at most a very limited number, probably 200) are followed up for much more. I do remember working on one Phase I study of about 200 people that had managed to do annual follow up for 10 years in one group, perhaps retaining 70 or 80 subjects. While safety questions are asked of the participants during this sort of follow up, those annual check ins are mainly done to look at response persistence. The widely held belief among regulators is that long-term effects can be deduced from mode of action, and therefore mid to long-term safety testing is hypothesis driven (i.e. by specifically looking for certain events, rather than looking for ‘any’ events).

        2. K. Cavan

          There are 4 Endemic Coronaviruses, Sars02 will cease to be important once it stops being Novel & becomes endemic, it may be, already. This would happen faster without vaccines, if they work, they’re quite likely to put Evolutionary Pressure on Sars02, creating far more variants, although assuming the variants will be more infectious or dangerous is irrational, they’re equally likely to be milder & less infectious, it’s completely random & Public Health Authorities don’t know anything about Sars02 variants, nothing, nada, not a sausage. All Coronaviruses have multiple variants, OC43, for example, has 29. Clinically, they all present identically because viruses have evolved to infect specific cells in specific parts of the body & no Coronavirus will mutate much because it’s evolved to only infect specific cells in the Respiratory Tract, it needs exact matches with receptors on the cell surface. Also, viruses have physically tiny genomes, they simply have not got the Genetic Space to evolve drastically. It’s like having 2 pieces of Lego, how many different shapes can you make from that? In comparison, a mammal is several skips full of Lego, you can make almost any shape you like from that. Variants, shmeriants, all the talk about variants is scare tactics, because most people who’ve done basic genetics know about the tiny amounts of DNA or RNA viruses contain. Most viruses mutate rapidly, all the time, simply by not correcting errors that crop up in replication & Coronaviruses are very stable, genetically, one of the few, perhaps the only virus type that actually corrects random errors, something that all higher life-forms do regularly. TBH nobody knows for sure how many variants any virus has, nobody’s really bothering to track & trace them because nobody’s interested, unless patients pop up with radically different clinical presentations, then someone might bother to sequence the genome. Flu viruses are slightly different but it would take too long to explain. Endemic is Good, Variants are Irrelevant, Coronaviruses are 1,000 years old, a healthy Immune System slays them, without much effort & you eat, drink & inhale Billions of viral particles every day. Anyway…

    2. Joe

      The best answer is out of altruism and kindness for your fellow citizens, perhaps you donate blood for similar reasons. The second answer would be to suppress a filthy virus that could potentially develop into something more devestating in younger age groups. Medically there’s many more reasons not the least being long Covid that is more prevalent in younger age groups

      1. Cui Bono?

        is Long Covid not just post viral syndrome or post-viral fatigue?

        I know a lot of people that have had covid now and it’s been very mild for them, only two in their 70s had it bad for 2 weeks but no long term trouble at all thankfully.

        https://qcovid.org/Home/AcademicLicence?licencedUrl=%2FCalculation

        Altruism?? The risk from covid for most of us is so tiny it makes no sense why we’re overreacting and hysterical at this stage.

      2. K. Cavanp

        No, it can’t “develop” into something more serious in any age cohort, viruses act on cells, not on people, it’s irrelevant what age the person is, once infection occurs. Long Covid, well I have no proof about that but neither has anyone else. I know just enough about Virology to seriously doubt that it exists. Coronaviruses give us Winter Colds, that’s all, in fact they mostly give us a sniffle or two as T-cells & the rest of the Immune System kill them before they can even spread from mucous membranes into the Respiratory Tract & there are two endemic Coronaviruses that are almost identical to Sars02 that have infected humans for a millenium but none have produced “Long Versions”. We might find out that everyone who has this mythical version is obese or something, nobody’s researched it & frankly, it’s highly unlikely anyone ever will, cos it’s probably more politically-motivated nonsense.

        1. E'Matty

          perhaps the history of the coronavirus family, antibody dependent enhancement and cytokine storms might explain why some are suffering cytokine storms and some are not. One stat you will never get is the crossover percentage of those who were infected with SARS-COV2, went on to develop Covid19 and suffered cytokine storms, and had received one or more vaccines in the preceding 24 months. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the most affected groups (the elderly, vulnerable and healthcare professionals) are the most vaccinated groups in the population.

          Now, we have a drive to vaccinate everybody in society, yet nobody has asked whether they have managed to solve the decades long problem experienced by all who attempted to develop a coronavirus vaccine before. None were succcessful. All experienced this antibody dependent enhancement, where the vaccinated subject experienced an immune system overreaction, or cytokine storm when they encounter the wild virus, resulting in organ failure and often death, in some cases for all test subjects. Let’s keep our fingers crossed none of these vaccines, the fastest ever developed, have failed to resolve that issue. Just one could have catastrophic consequences.

    3. K. Cavan

      There is no reason whatsoever for anyone under 65 to take a jab, unless they have underlying Chronic conditions, in fact, for all we know, there’s no reason for a healthy 80-year-old to take them. Last time I checked, 93% of deaths were over-65’s. There’s been no serious attempt, as far as I know, to collect & compile data on mortality that includes Chronic illness stats, which is rather telling, TBH, because while there might be incredibly useful information in that dataset, it might very well completely derail this scam.

  2. Charger Salmons

    One more time – why is the HSE still ” looking at ” lengthening the time between first and second doses ?
    They’ve been ” looking at ” this for 3 and a half months now.
    Every major medical agency has long since approved the UK vaccine strategy which has had four months of being proved right.
    And still these jokers are ” looking at ” it.
    How much time do they need ?

    1. ce

      Just enough time to see how the UK gets on with opening up and new variants… cynical, yes… but you have to admire the craftiness of it all…

      In all seriousness, given that rightly or wrongly we’re going to be having all pfizer and moderna for the next while, and given their effectiveness – so far – with variants, and the efficacy of a single dose of these as has been demonstrated in other countries, I would agree with you and say lets get jabbing

  3. GiggidyGoo

    No Thanks Colm. It’s obvious that full information on safety is being witheld. If it’s as safe as is being peddled, then there’d be no reason for Denmark to stop using it outright.

  4. Joe

    It would be nice to see Broadsheet instead of pandering to an anti science Covid scepticism minority, would instead highlight the overwhelming positive good and saving of numerous lives through public health measures like vaccination, protection of workers and the extraordinary work of frontline health care workers.

      1. Commenter #1

        lol, 2 posts already today relying on RTE content. without copying-and-pasting from mainstream sources this place would essentially be a stream of webcomics, cars, and photos of sunsets.

          1. General Public

            Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

            If you don’t like any of the content, why do you visit and comment every single day?

      2. Nigel

        It’s true, you don’t get the unique editorial points of view on RTE that you get here, such as the way white-hat hackers observed the fraud being committed in the 2020 US presidential election and passed the proof to Trump who was going to use it to oust the Deep State, but I guess he got distracted and everyone else forgot becuase that unique point of view was desperately needed for covid and vaccine matters.

    1. K. Cavan

      Joe, I’m extremely sceptical of this entire operation, I believe it’s a scam concocted for political reasons. This scepticism is based entirely on Science, on knowledge, nothing else. To me, the very idea of taking any sort of vaccine for a Coronavirus, (a Coronavirus!!!) is completely insane, because I’m under 65, not obese & with no Chronic conditions that would impact me if infected with this Common Cold virus. Broadsheet is not “pandering” to anyone, people are expressing their opinions, some are actually rather better-informed than you but don’t agree with you & I’m sure that bothers you & it should, you’re being conned by authorities that lied to you about Cervical Cancer & Breast Cancer screening, about how they infected patients with Hep C & HIV, you’re accepting what’s said to you by people who lied about giving people AIDS, for goodness sake. If you STILL trust those people, best of luck to you, you’ll need it.

        1. E'Matty

          Yet every word of it true. How in God’s name can you come on here and attack anyone who dares question the government or NPHET when we have a long a dark history of extremely criminal and horrifying behaviour by our instituions of State, Healthcare in particular? Only today, I saw reported in the Journal (of all places) details of the Valproate scandal. A report from the UK which revealed that the dangers of women using the epilepsy drug sodium valproate – sold under the brand name Epilim in Ireland – had been kept from patients for decades. Patients were not warned of any risks of developmental delays or impairments, despite this impact being reported to health officials decades previously and added to the drug’s regulatory documentation in the early 2000s. Women gave birth to babies who suffered developmental issues as a result. Decades the health establishment knew of this and still prescribed it to pregnant women.

          “It was known since its availability in Ireland in the 1970s that valproate may cause birth defects if used in pregnancy.

          Yet, for decades many women across the world were prescribed this drug without being warned of the different risks by their doctors.

          For years, campaigners here have pleaded with politicians and people in power to investigate this scandal which has left over 3,000 babies in Ireland potentially exposed to this drug and its damaging side effects.”

          These are the State institutions you want us to follow unquestioningly? What’s wrong with you? Someone tells you that Tony Holohan was still encouraging Irish parents to get their kids vaccinated with Pandemrix AFTER there were alarms raised around the world about it’s link to narcolepsy. You’ll just call them a ratlicker and say this proven factual story is a “conspiracy theory”. The State (us, the taxpayer) are now paying out millions in compensation to the hundred plus victims injured by that vaccine. Tony? Well, he’s on a nice fat salary and the darling of the chattering classes. And I am just an anti vaxxer for mentioning this factual information.

          When Thalidomide was causing horrific birth defects (actually killing 90% in the womb). What did the State bodies do? Kept administering it to avoid a “public scare”. This is the sociopathic mindset of power. Why are you still so utterly naive to its true nature?

        2. Nigel

          Ah, the tinfoil comment is a bit much, though we are definitely well into Wake Up Sheeple territory.

      1. J Kildare

        HI k you are 100% correct data produced on vaers shows that there has been 2249 deaths 911 disability and 7726 serious injury and 50861 adverse events from people who have been administered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as of the 09/04/2021

      2. J Kildare

        HI k you are 100% correct data produced on vaers shows that there has been 2249 deaths 911 disability and 7726 serious injury and 50861 adverse events from people who have been administered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as of the 09/04/2021

  5. K. Cavan

    When Dr. Henry says this is “a good vaccine”, he’s simply lying. He has no possible way of knowing this, because the only way to “know” if a vaccine is “good” are a long series of trials, which haven’t been done & won’t actually ever be done, because it’s too late, the population of the world are all subjects in a “Live Trial”. Everyone who takes these vaccines is a lab rat & is literally being experimented on. Again, Dr Henry is, at best, talking through his bum region, at worst, simply a LIAR. He may THINK they’re good, that’s like saying he’s “getting a good vibe off them” because without the proper clinical trials, he hasn’t a fupping clue what he’s talking about, no ifs, no buts, there is no alternative way of assaying the quality or safety of any medical procedure. Utter bullpoo.

  6. perricrisptayto

    K. Cavan , you should come around here more often.
    Best analysis I’ve read in some time.

  7. K. Cavan

    “Covid-19” is a newly-minted Brand Name for Pneumonia. In Winter, all Coronaviruses cause Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, which we call The Common Cold & sometimes, in more vulnerable people, Lower Respiratory Tract Infections, called Pnumonia. The way this was Packaged & Branded, despite being no different from the pre-existing medical term Pneumonia, as (Fanfare!!!) ***COVID-19*** means that, yes, Covid is a Scam. mRNA is mind-blowing medical tech but as long as medical science existed, it couldn’t come up with a vaccine for any Coronaviruses, at least not one safe enough to SELL to the Public but in a few months, they’ve come up with one that’s safe enough to be FORCED on the Public? I still think they should’ve gone with New Pneumonia.

    1. Kdoc

      K, my son in California (aged 45) contracted Corona, as did his wife. A flu, or common cold, typically takes 3 – 5 days to recover from – he was seriously ill for 5 weeks! Unlike pneumonia, he didn’t have a productive cough as one of his symptoms, but rather a dry rasping cough along with severe all over body pain and other symptoms. Thankfully, he avoided hospitalisation – just about – but at one point he was issued with an epi-pen when his breathing became really difficult. Like all of us he has had colds and flus over the years and he insists there’s an enormous qualitative difference between them and Covid-19. His message is: don’t let anyone tell you it’s just like the flu. It’s worth noting that he is a big strong healthy lad who practices martial arts 3 times a week and goes for long cycles at weekends. Offering opinions is fine, but we should be careful that we don’t discourage people from receiving the vaccine; their life, or their health, may depend on it.

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