Michael Zimmerman
Aug 29, 2020
When a vaccine for Covid-19 is released in the United States I will likely be one of the millions of people who abstains from taking it.
As a scientist with a Ph.D. in biology, I am shocked to be writing those words.
As someone who has written and spoken out regularly about the value of vaccination and against the pseudo-scientific position promoted by anti-vaxxers, both on the right and the left, I am shocked to be writing those words.
As someone at higher risk given my age and the fact that I take a drug suppressing my immune system, I am shocked to be writing those words.
As someone who has already had a flu vaccine for the coming flu season, I am shocked to be writing those words.
As an American who cares about the health and well-being of those in my local community and across the nation, I am shocked to be writing those words.
I am shocked to be writing those words.
But I have written those words and, as much as they distress me, I believe them and I believe that my decision is the correct one. It’s the correct one for me, it’s the correct one for those I love and it’s the correct one for our country.
A vaccine that doesn’t work will likely do more to spread Covid-19 than no vaccine.
A vaccine that hasn’t been proven safe can do irreparable damage to those who do opt to be inoculated.
I haven’t come to this conclusion lightly; the consequences are simply too great to trivialize the issue.
Perhaps I’ve not been cynical enough over the 45 years since I entered my Ph.D. program. I’ve trusted the process of science and the scientific method. I’ve believed that science consistently brings us closer to the truth — even as we discover what we don’t know and modify how we view the world.
Perhaps I’ve not been cynical enough, but despite the role of money in the drug development business, I’ve trusted the CDC and the FDA to make public health decisions based on data and on what’s in the best interest of the population of the United States.
Perhaps I’ve not been cynical enough, but I was convinced that collectively we learned something from the thalidomide disaster of the 1950s.
But, for me, all of that has now changed. Actually, that’s not true. I still believe that the scientific method is one of the most important tools we have. I still believe that we need to make decisions based on data rather than opinion or wishes. I still believe in the power of science to progressively help us make sense out of the world.
What’s changed is that I, like so many others, no longer have any reason to trust either the CDC or the FDA.
I have no reason to believe that the decisions they are making are based on data.
I have no reason to believe that the decisions they are making are designed to protect and promote the health and well-being of people in this country.
Instead, I can only conclude that the leadership of both agencies have been thoroughly corrupted and are acting for political rather than scientific reasons.
What else can anyone believe when the CDC changed its guidelines for opening schools upon the direction of the president?
What else can anyone believe when the FDA commissioner granted emergency authorization for the use of convalescent plasma despite remarkably limited data supporting such a decision and then lied about what the data actually indicate after pressure from the president?
What else can anyone believe when the CDC, after hearing the president demand that Covid-19 testing be slowed down, rewrote its guidance for testing saying that asymptomatic individuals, even those in close contact with people who have tested positive, should not be tested?
What else can anyone believe when these actions, as well as so many other recent actions, are attacked by virtually all in the scientific community as being scientifically and medically unsound?
For all of these reasons, when a vaccine for Covid-19 is announced in the United States, I will have no choice but to treat such a proclamation as a political rather than a scientific statement. I don’t take medical advice from politicians — of any party — and thus I will not trust either the words spoken or the vaccine itself; at least not if the current president and the current CDC and FDA leadership are still in place.
I’m not pleased to be taking this position. Indeed, I fear that this position will likely inflame the passions of those who are already opposed to vaccinations putting a growing number of individuals at risk from diseases that are easily controlled. And it will likely help grow their numbers putting even more people at risk.
But that’s the cost of allowing politics to trump science.
That’s the cost of permitting previously respected agencies to be subverted for political gain.
And that’s the cost of casting doubt on all previously trusted and knowledgeable voices.
I know that I will not be alone in shunning a Covid-19 vaccine announced by the current administration; numerous polls have made that clear. What is striking is that if I’ve come to this conclusion, someone who rejects conspiracy theories, promotes vaccines and, as a scientist, accepts the scientific method, we’ve likely reached a tipping point.
It will take new leadership for perceptions to change and even then, it will take time, a lot of time. As a former FDA spokesperson told POLITICO recently, “The damage that has been done will take at least 10 years to repair.”
It didn’t have to be this way but, as Donald Trump said, “it is what it is.”
________________________
21 November 2021 update: Given the changing political landscape and progress being made on vaccines, I revisited the ideas presented in this piece. You can read what I had to say here.
Michael Zimmerman is the founder and executive director of The Clergy Letter Project, Ph.D. in ecology, promoter of the liberal arts, long-time academic administrator
A Covid-19 vaccine will likely be available shortly: What should you do?
Responses (4)
Sammi Flynn, about 1 month ago:-
I read both your pieces..have no faith in your guidance as it appears to be itself politically motivated.
2. Taylornstjean
17 days ago (edited):-
Hasn't this vaccine been approved in many other countries? How could you say this vaccine approval is completely motivated by the politics of the Trump administration when over 50 countries have approved the EXACT SAME VACCINE. What you dont seem to…...
Richard Davis,
9 days ago:-
I read a number of your articles, and you're in essence Full of s***. You're a leftist fraud who IS in fact a political animal, although your feeble attempts to promote yourself as some sort of socratic thinking individual, with no political bias…...
Jsmanigault,
about 2 months ago responded:-
Even under the best circumstances imaginable, widespread vaccine availability will not occur until the spring.
Thank you for your feedback. One last question…do we get to choose the vaccine of preference? If so, which are you taking the live vs dead vaccine; rna/dna vs human cold virus; Vesicular stomatitis virus? Also, I wonder if they can detect “hidden”…...
A Covid-19 vaccine will likely be available shortly: What should you do?
Michael Zimmerman
Michael Zimmerman
Nov 21, 2020·4 min read
Image for post
When a vaccine for Covid-19 is released in the United States I will likely be one of the millions of people who abstains from taking it.
As a scientist with a Ph.D. in biology, I am shocked to be writing those words.
I wrote those words almost three months ago and they created a fair bit of a stir. Indeed, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, pushed back and we engaged in a productive dialogue about the issue.
I made it clear in my original essay and in my response to Dr. Collins that the Trump administration had politicized so much of the government’s medical and scientific establishment that I found it impossible to trust any decision being promoted by those in charge. I also clearly made a number of important related points:
· I trust and respect the scientists who are working on vaccine development;
· I wholeheartedly believe in the efficacy of vaccines and I worry about providing any ammunition to anti-vaxxers; and
· I would reassess my position if there were a review of the safety and efficacy of a Covid-19 vaccine truly independent of the Trump administration.
I believe that the political landscape has changed to such a large extent that it is time for me to revisit my position. Vaccine development has proceeded apace and multiple applications are now coming forward for emergency use authorization.
Approval, if granted, will occur after an independent review and there is good reason to believe that the present administration will not be able to influence that decision. Equally important, multiple states have said that they will conduct their own independent reviews of the safety and efficacy of any vaccine approved by the FDA, making it even less likely that politics will influence the final decision.
Under these conditions, and in the face of a pandemic that is raging out of control, I am putting my trust in science and in the scientists who have been working tirelessly to create a vaccine. In fact, as I noted, I’ve always trusted science and scientists but I was extremely worried that inappropriate political considerations would push both the science and the scientists aside. That worry has been alleviated and I very much hope that one or more of the vaccines moving forward will meet the standards necessary for approval.
If/when such approval is granted, I also hope that the vast majority of the public comes to the same conclusion that I have and agrees to be vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is made widely available.
Even an incredibly effective vaccine can only work to stop the pandemic if a large percentage of the population is inoculated. That means that it is up to all of us to participate if we want to put an end to the scourge that has altered life for all of us.
It’s well worth remembering that vaccines have been one of the most amazing and most effective medical advances that humans have ever created. Yes, there are those among us who are opposed to vaccination but their opposition is not based on scientific data. Simply put, vaccines are overwhelmingly safe and remarkably effective at combating a wide range of diseases. With the politics removed from the approval process for a Covid-19 vaccine, there’s no reason to be concerned that its safety and efficacy will be any different than other vaccines in common use.
Even under the best circumstances imaginable, widespread vaccine availability will not occur until the spring. That gives you plenty of time to think about whether or not you’ll want to opt in. I urge you to think carefully and read widely but ultimately to take the vaccine when the option arises.
I also urge you to get a flu vaccine immediately if you haven’t yet done so. Doing just that might well save you from falling ill or perhaps dying and, equally important, it might keep you out of the hospital, freeing up needed space and resources over the coming months as the pandemic deepens.
Together we can make a critical difference in the ultimate health of our communities.
Responses:- (7)
Fred, about 2 months ago
I myself have a BSc(Hons) in Applied biochemistry and BEng(Hone) Engineering (I work within biomedical engineering) I will not be having a vaccine for a made up virus! I am not an anti vaxxer, or a conspiracy nut, no 5G Hasn't caused an issue(although it is worth noting that we are starting to get to frequencies that if in high enough concentrations will have some effect on Biological Organisms, but our systems have great ways in repairing any damage done ... most of the time!) This virus is factious! No one has died of it, many have been lied to that they or a loved one has died of it. This is all about implementation of control, the digital passport. Many people fight against anything that takes away their freedom, but if you throw fear in there or an enemy that every one can hate (in this case a virus) then people will get behind and support the loss of their freedoms. I stated this back in March when it all first started kicking off here in the UK many of my friends and colleagues argued, now though a lot have come round, even those that have been so called diagnosed with it (including my own mother) all of which where treated with antibiotics as they all had bacterial chest infections. People who have died of this so called virus all died from the plethora of real diseases, conditions and illnesses that have existed before this nonsense. All I ask people to do is research it, I'm not talking about the science, because with all the will in the world 99.9% of the population will not understand it, they will parrot it back as if they do understand it but they just don't. I'm asking to research what has been implemented, track and trace, scanning to go in and out of your work place, quasi forced vaccinations (when they get released) and if you don't get the vaccine you will not be allowed to go to your work place, shop, gym, etc. etc. This is actually written in the British medical journal under operation moon-shot. Which even stipulates enforcement of the use of track and trace and uptake of the vaccine by coercion, "enforcing testing “via a sanction-based model” or through “offering individuals opportunities/access from being tested,” such as being able to attend events." (go to BMJ and search for 'm3558') we need to fight against this implementation of digital passports and control of our lives. I have not stopped seeing my relatives or friends, I have seen them more than ever! I have mixed with them all. Even after my mum was diagnosed, guess what no one got ill, non of their friends got ill, no one reported a thing! I live in an area with the demographic age is 60+, I know alot of them, not one has gotten ill (other than the usual) I do know people who have died one from terminal cancer, this was listed as CV19 on their death cert, one was killed in a car crash again listed as CV19. My sister knows several that have committed suicide (she works in a large school) all now down as CV casualties! this virus doesn't exist, people get ill, even the heathy and young get ill and sometimes die, its part of being mortal.
Corey Howard, about 1 month ago (edited)
Agree 100% Many people over look or are unaware this is the first time a mRNA vaccine has been used on humans. This vaccine will change you forever. Good or bad, I am leaning to the later personally I believe this is a eugenics medium funded and created by the big 5 (Fauci, Gates, Rockefeller's, Soros and the CCP) I am not an antivaxxer but I am also not a human experiment for a now untrustworthy global government. I'm out.
Jsmanigault, about 2 months ago:
So now what? What other option is there if there is no cure? I do not want to take it either, but I also don't want to risk getting covid by not doing anything at all. Will you take it once it's proven to be effective? How long does it take to see if the antibodies are actually effective or is Covid capable of still being spread to others by those that have been vaccinated?
Jerry Braun, about 1 month ago:
I just read this treatise, and is wrong for so many reasons, mostly because it is political, not logical..
Zimmerman's piece was sickening to read, purporting himself to be an unbiased observer and an expert in the field, but it is obviously veiled in the same tired Anti-Trump rhetoric, where those with an agenda to dismiss any good ideas which are backed or proposed by Trump, or his assembled covid teams, or admin, even if such opposition is a detriment to our country. Something as important as this vaccine should be beyond politics. We all knew back when this clown Zimmerman wrote this to start with. , that widespread use of this vaccine will be most effective when majority of the public gets vaccinated.
To advocate against is anti-country, anti-safety, anti-logic, and all because this clown is, at any cost, anti-Trump anything. One does not need to like the way Trump conducts himself in certain situations, but someone like Zimmerman should consider himself a hack now, especially as proven now in retrospect, as he eases into the new position, that the vaccine is important for all to participate in.
Admit you were wrong and frenzied and political, and move on now, and whole-heartedly endorse vaccines, you Hack ass-hole.
(I tried to erase Hack ****** comment but it kept reappearing, must be a sign that it needed to remain)
Kent Meyer, 4 months ago:-
In politics, as in war, "truth is the first casualty.
Paul Ashley, 4 days ago:-
I too am older and on immuno-suppressant drugs and will not be taking the vaccine. However, the author's implication that the CDC has been making policy based on the President's advice alone its ludicrous. If anything, the CDC has shown itself to be in opposition to the administration and has corrupted itself all on it
Jay kennedy, 9 days ago:-
Well, based on your biased political democrat opinions, I would automatically do the opposite of what you write. As an Engineer with 45 years of practice, the first thing one needs to do is find the truth, before you try to solve the problem. Who can you trust? NY Times, WashPost, NBC,CBS,ABC,PBS,CNN, Reuters, AP, WHO ... Nope...Not any more. Many on the opposite spectrum are also shilling BS. Really a sorry state of affairs.
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