Covid-19 crisis Are the vaccines safe and effective?
I read many reports about the clinical trials carried out on various vaccines and the conclusions on their safety and efficacy.

I also read reports about the vaccination campaigns in several countries and their efficacy and adverse side effects.

I also look at the data on the new cases and daily deaths for various countries that are presented in the worldometer website

I also viewed a few reports and videos that cover the negative aspects of the vaccines.

I find most of these negative reports to be incredible because they exaggerated the negative impacts from rare incidents or create fear based on speculation rather than reality.

They do not pass my test of logic or reasoning

I accept the conclusion of the experts that the vaccines provide a fair level of protection against infection and a higher level of protection against hospitalisation and deaths

It means that the vaccinated can still be infected but the virus will be mild.
I am not worried about new infection cases in Singapore. I prefer to pay attention to patients that need oxygen supplement. This number remains at a low level of less than 50.

I will only worry if this number increase sharply to more than 10 times of the current level, say more than 500.

This is my opinion.

I saw that some vaccinated people became severely ill and have died. Most of them already had severe medical conditions.

I do not expect the vaccine to provide total protection against the virus.
The vulnerable should continue to take precautions against exposure, even if they are vaccinated.

We need to use common sense in understanding the data, to trust the views of the experts, and avoid being influenced by unreliable scare reports.

The situation is dynamic. We need to monitor the changes. This is not an easy task. It requires access to reliable data and considerable knowledge to interpret the trend

In short, we have to leave it to the experts. Let them make their study and give their conclusion. We can use our logic and reasoning to decide on its credibility.

Here are my concluding remarks.

The minister for health said that over 90% of the eligible has been vaccinated and it is safe to relax our restrictions gradually.

I agree with this view.

The vaccine does protect most people from the virus. It may be unsuitable for a small number of people with special conditions. They should rely on the advice of their personal doctor.

Tan Kin Lian

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