You can be here! A series that captures the duality of our thinking.
The second post in this series is talking about the importance of trusting in the robust process for monitoring adverse events while simultaneously maintaining a high level of respect, acknowledgment, and empathy for individual experiences.
As a science advocate, I have a high level of trust for the processes in place to monitor adverse events and thoughtfully evaluate risk. Even so, it is incredibly important to acknowledge that while adverse-events are very rare, they are not impossible. That while the vaccines have an incredible net positive for humanity, they may cause unpredictable injury in a very small group of people. Even writing that makes me feel uncomfortable! But we all know it and we have to embrace the nuance.
It can feel very frustrating to hear of adverse-event reports that are aimed at trying to increase vaccine hesitancy. The abuse of VAERS in the past year threatens our public safety but we must continue to work under the assumption that adverse-event reports are genuine. No progress will be made if people don’t feel that they will be heard. Finally, if you’re someone who is tempted to make a false claim, maybe think twice. The system is set up to catch safety concerns and false claims only muddy the waters.
Empathy matters!