This morning I was considering speaking on a conference call with clinic staff where I work, and where the vaccine is being heavily promoted. Our clinic administered the first 20 doses of the Moderna product to employees this morning. I have responded to a survey indicating that I am not willing to receive the vaccine at this time. I imagine sharing these thoughts in a video for social media. The time I think is coming for that kind of activism, and the response it generates will be worth navigating… I think. Here is a brief writing of what I might have said on that clinic meeting:

Hello, before I say anything, I just want to voice that I am open to further discussion about my position, and about your decision on whether or not to receive the vaccine. I am choosing to wait at this time for a couple reasons which I’d like to share. First, I hesitate with the terminology; since a “vaccine” as I understand it, should have the antigenic components to which our immune system generates antibodies. In this case, the injection contains the genetic coding sequence for the spike protein which is then generated in our own human cells. It’s an interesting idea, and it might work, but it is not a vaccine in the traditional sense of that word. Second, the studies that were done to get it approved were completed by the pharmaceutical industry that benefits financially from its approval for use and distribution. They know how to design studies that satisfy the lowest bar for approval, and there is not effective oversight for long-term safety. This product has not been fully evaluated and approved by the FDA, it was granted an emergency authorization for use due to circumstances of the pandemic, and so from my perspective, appropriate caution is warranted. I don’t yet know if the benefits are greater than the harms. I’m not in a position to advise against the vaccine, because there isn’t evidence now that it is more dangerous than beneficial, but I am here to simply voice my uncertainty in the setting of a medical industry that is rapidly promoting its use. It is not mandatory now, so you have the opportunity to decide for yourself. As do I, as a physician currently seeing patients. I am at low-risk for severe disease from COVID (and not zero risk), and I am choosing to delay on receiving the vaccine that is being distributed to my colleagues today.