Have your say: On COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

To the Editors,

In December 2020, Health Canada authorized the first COVID-19 vaccines, by Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna. Many people, including me, were astonished, and more than a little suspicious, at how quickly these vaccines appeared and received conditional approval as safe and effective by federal regulators.

My first reaction was to wait a year to see results of real-world experience. Let others be the guinea pigs. My second reaction was to research facts. I read many academic papers and respected publications with solid expertise reporting medical research and technology.

To round out my survey, I added social media nay-sayers: COVID-19 deniers, anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, and those reactively “against the establishment”, easily prodded to scream out their latest grievance, real or imaginary. It was quite a ride, but I was not persuaded. Quite the opposite. Some are self-promoting master chefs, concocting toxic stews of lies and hate, seasoned with a few grains of truth, to convince those who are uncertain, and to bind fellow haters to their brand. Others just love the sound of their own rant.