What Should You Know Before Choosing a Vaccine

As governments across the world have begun mass vaccination programs against COVID-19 and other viral diseases, it’s important for people to observe a high level of caution. While countries such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reported significant strides in their vaccine rollouts, these do not hide the potential risk that vaccination entails.

Vaccines are crucial in the fight against health crises, but people — especially those who are at most risk — will need to make careful decisions. It all starts with awareness and education. On that note, here are a few things you need to know before choosing a vaccine that is right for you.

Getting the advice of your doctor is the first step

Even prior to the rollout of vaccines in your community, you should have already checked with your physician if you are in the safe zone. Not all vaccine products are safe to administer to people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and heart problems. Moreover, certain age groups will also be at risk of side effects. Let your doctor weigh in on your decision to get vaccinated.

Never rely on second-hand sources

Expert advice should be your only basis for selecting the right vaccine. With misinformation becoming rampant across the internet, never let the noise of social media cloud your judgment. It’s best that you look at authoritative sources and avoid pages and websites that provide claims which are either dubious or deliberately misquoted from existing news sources.

No matter what you see on your Facebook or Twitter feed, take it with a grain of salt and verify the information they contain. You may also have to check with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration for other helpful and accurate information.

Examine the track records of vaccine manufacturers

In choosing a vaccine, it matters to look into the past records of the manufacturer. Do they have a checkered past? Were they the subject of any investigations? Were they connected to scandals, anomalous dealings, or past medical crises?

Your life depends on the efficacy and safety of the vaccine you selected, so it helps to get one from a manufacturer you trust. It doesn’t take much to know if a vaccine maker has a history of complaints and scandals. A simple online search will do, but make sure you steer clear of sources that churn out false information.

Take time to learn the development process

Billions of dollars are put towards vaccine research and manufacturing. In addition, it takes years to come up with one that’s safe for all age groups and sectors. In the context of the current pandemic, these processes were accelerated as manufacturers raced against time.

For this reason, you should know whether a vaccine has undergone the right steps before being rolled out. A vaccine producer should have conducted a well-documented clinical trial. It should also have standards for administering drugs safely throughout the trial. There is a lot that you need to consider along these lines, but taking the time to learn how vaccines are made can help you make a rational choice.

Check if the vaccine is approved by government bodies

Part of the vaccine development process is the approval phase. In the United States, vaccines and other drugs are first reviewed before they are approved for public use. The country’s top oversight agency for pharmaceuticals, the FDA, reviews the clinical studies and evaluates the findings with the help of experts. Much of this process involves analyzing a drug’s potential benefits to patients and its potency in treating a specific condition. On top of that, evaluators assess the possible side effects and risks that the product poses to certain sectors, such as the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

This phase often takes a long time, since governments want to make sure that a vaccine is safe for the public. In some cases, government agencies may contest the results of clinical studies and will have to conduct a further review before approving the product. There are also scenarios where the approval process has to be fast-tracked (as in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic). Through an accelerated approval process, for instance, the FDA can issue a decision within six days.

Waiting for government approval is crucial before you decide on purchasing a vaccine. Bear in mind that vaccines and other drugs that are made available to the public without getting greenlit are considered illegal, if not dangerous. You must avoid buying or acquiring any vaccine that has been smuggled, even if it has been shown to be promising.

Vaccines save lives, but this alone shouldn’t cause you to put your guard down. Your long term safety and health depends on how informed you are in choosing a vaccine that’s right for you. Keep these pointers in mind and stay safe.