Letter to the Editor: How I trust U.S. Medicine
Let me express my alternate perspective to one shared here on January 4th about informed consent. When it comes to auto repairs, major purchases, major surgeries, or business contracts, count me in! When it involves preventive medical care (such as vaccinations) I’ll rely on trust, instead. Why is this?
The Polio wards of iron lungs I visited with my mother in the 1950s made a lasting impression to seek vaccination if possible. My history includes acceptance of the first available Polio vaccine, first by needle and then by soaked sugar cube. I’ve had all my vaccinations since then, as did my kids and wife.
Now in my mid-seventies, I keep getting flu shots yearly, but still have to address occasional doubters who insist that a dead virus can give one influenza. I’ve had every COVID vaccination and booster I could access (now five and counting). At my age, why would I take my meds, wear a seatbelt, and closely monitor my T2 Diabetes in order to then let COVID take me out like the million others who were dead in the U.S. as of May, 2022?
Johns Hopkins Medicine stated on 3-10-22 that, “Studies found that the two initial vaccines are both about 95% effective — and reported no serious or life-threatening side effects. There are many reasons why the COVID-19 vaccines could be developed so quickly.”
Scientific American said on 3-29-22, “…about three quarters of the dead, or around 730,000, have been people 65 and older. Many of them were otherwise healthy and, statistically, would have lived many more years, says Jennifer Dowd, a demographer at the University of Oxford.”
And on 12-28-22, the New York Times shared, “Vaccines are one of the few true cost savers in medicine. The routine immunizations of children born from 1994 to 2018 are projected to prevent nearly one million early deaths and save nearly $1.9 trillion in economic costs — more than $5,700 for each American, according to the C.D.C. For measles, a state might spend more than $2 million responding to a single outbreak, with each case costing nearly $50,000 on average, according to an analysis of a recent outbreak in Washington State.”
There’s a big difference between insisting on informed consent prior to any vaccination or treatment and the (trust) that I’ve been using. It is that my life experience, tempered with recent statistical results both show a rear-view mirror image of what has already happened. That is factual, accurate, and can be counted as proof. To me, it beats worrying about medical decision making on the front end. I trust the medical professionals who enjoy access to far more information than I have. I’ll keep taking their advice.
Bill Martin
Quincy