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A vaccine against covid-19 may arrive in Sweden in January. But many Swedes are concerned about side effects and hesitate to get vaccinated.
But the risk of a recurrence of swine flu, when hundreds of Swedes suffered from narcolepsy, is unlikely, according to researcher Farshid Jalalvand.
– If we don’t get vaccinated, we won’t be able to stop the pandemic, he says.
There are growing signs that Sweden may start vaccinating against COVID-19 in January. But many Swedes are skeptical about accepting a syringe when it is offered to them. In an Aftonbladet / Demoskop poll, a third answer is that they don’t want to get vaccinated.
But the fact that many people get vaccinated is important to ending the pandemic, according to Farshid Jalalvand, a microbiologist at Lund University.
– It is estimated that around 65 percent need protection for us to achieve herd immunity.
You have received many emails from people wondering if the covid vaccine is safe. Many people have swine flu, when hundreds of Swedes contracted narcolepsy from the Pandemrix vaccine, in recent memory.
No signs of serious side effects.
He sees that history repeating itself as unlikely.
– That vaccine included a part of the flu virus that in a small group of people resembled body tissue. Then the body’s immune system attacked itself and caused narcolepsy. The covid vaccine uses a completely different part of the virus that is completely different from the flu virus.
Farshid Jalalvand, a microbiologist at Lund University.
The Covid vaccine has been tested in tens of thousands of people. The reported side effects are mild: redness and pain when injecting, muscle aches and headaches.
– 90 to 95 percent of vaccine side effects are detected within two months, during phase 3 studies. So far there are no signs of more serious side effects, says Jalalvand.
Wold: Don’t start vaccinating each other
That the vaccine, if approved, was developed in a short time does not matter, according to Agnes Wold, a professor of clinical bacteriology at the University of Gothenburg.
– No, you don’t have to worry about that. Studies of the same size as for other vaccines have been conducted and reviews by the Agency for Medical Products and other agencies have been conducted in parallel. You haven’t missed anything.
But if a vaccine has serious and unusual side effects, it is only known when the number of vaccinated will reach between one hundred thousand and one million.
Photo: Adam Ihse / TT
Agnes Wold, professor of clinical bacteriology at the University of Gothenburg.
The decision to get vaccinated or not is a personal balance between the risk of becoming seriously ill and dying and the possible risk of serious side effects from a vaccine. Agnes Wold does not believe that people should judge those who wait.
– We are not going to start getting vaccinated now. It is perfectly reasonable to hesitate and perfectly reasonable not to be, there are no guarantees. I think many people in their 70s will get vaccinated, I heard from friends and acquaintances. They are tired of this.
Vaccination may be required to travel abroad
Agnes Wold is not concerned that very few take advantage of it when given the opportunity. And because many countries will start vaccinating at the same time, any side effects will be quickly detected.
– The elderly and risk groups who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill and dying from covid will want to get vaccinated quickly, while the younger ones wait a bit. In the summer, vaccinations may be required to travel abroad, so there are sufficiently strong incentives.
Photo: BYRMO CAROLINA
Matti Sällberg, professor of biomedical analysis at Karolinska Institutet.
Matti Sällberg, professor of biomedical analysis at Karolinska Institutet, believes that the benefits of a vaccine far outweigh the risks.
– The biggest advantage is that we can return to a normal life. Each person who is vaccinated becomes a wall against the virus and stops the infection of those who can become seriously ill and die, he says.
Not getting vaccinated is not an option, says Farshid Jalalvand.
– So we don’t stop the pandemic and then we have to live with the restrictions for several years, without student celebrations, weddings and concerts.
Do we have a social responsibility to get vaccinated?
– I do not see the difference between the individual and society in this pandemic, we are all affected. I think you have a responsibility to yourself and your family to try to get rid of him. Everyone’s life is now on hold.
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