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View all search resultsQuestions on COVID-19 that are unsatisfactorily answered (part 2)
As the world moves on from COVID-19, are we ignoring the structural failures and ethical lapses that defined the pandemic? This sharp critique demands transparency from Big Pharma and global leaders to ensure that "business as usual" doesn’t lead us into the next catastrophe.
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A health worker prepares COVID-19 vaccine for patients at Arcamanik community health center (puskesmas) on Jan. 4, 2024, in Bandung, West Java. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
In Part 1 of this article, I flagged five serious and unsatisfactorily answered questions regarding COVID-19. Without sincere questioning, speaking truth to power and concerted collaboration, meaningful progress based on avoiding historical pitfalls is not possible.
Let us therefore examine the next set of five questions.
Question 6: Was vaccination—specifically the way it was forcefully mandated and implemented—the only solution? Were the four vaccinations administered through much of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, truly necessary? Did vaccination have any serious side effects, as claimed by several individuals and families? Has large-scale research been commissioned or completed on the side effects of COVID-19 to allay fears, speculation and conspiracy theories?
I have, to date, not contracted COVID-19. As mandated, I took four vaccinations (two of AstraZeneca and two of Pfizer) at prescribed intervals in Jakarta. Several individuals in my circle of family and friends overseas, however, stopped at two or three shots, claiming they were concerned about side effects. Almost all of us have heard—though it cannot be proven one way or another—of healthy individuals suffering a stroke, heart attack or blood clots a few months after vaccination. While we all—whether recipients of two, three or four shots—are grateful for having survived, there are lingering questions about how much and what type of vaccination was actually required.
Several European countries ended vaccine mandates after two doses, while others, noting warning signs, discontinued certain vaccines, especially for their younger populations. Unfortunately, in many countries including Indonesia, there was no choice because airline travel and international transit were not permitted without progressive vaccine certification.
Since Big Pharma raked in billions of dollars from COVID-19 vaccines, it is incumbent upon them and their collaborating academic institutions (such as Oxford University with AstraZeneca) to conduct further independent studies. These must be thoroughly vetted and peer-reviewed to accurately ascertain the known and unknown impacts of vaccines on individuals. Since variables like climate, living conditions, diet and locally prevalent diseases differ from country to country, several studies are required based on the geographical grouping of nations.
Entities like the WHO can coordinate these efforts, provided they include independent scientific and governance experts. Funding for these studies, ideally to be completed by 2027, needs to be provided by major vaccine makers and their backers. Furthermore, doubts regarding non-compliance with "halal" or other religiously mandated compositions—concerns that are periodically raised—must be definitively dispelled.
