Letter from Dr. Cromer – VACCINE CONFUSION? … CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR

How many of you have ever heard the phrase “consult your doctor” in relation to getting an opinion concerning some medication, procedure, or vaccine? This year has certainly been bizarre in relation to what information has been coming from the federal government and Florida in particular concerning vaccines. I thought that I would take some time to tell you my thoughts in general and some facts in particular concerning the COVID vaccine and the vaccines that are presently mandated for public school entrance in Florida.

Before I go any further, I want to say that I know that vaccine discussions can be very controversial. Everyone has a right to an opinion and no one side should be silenced. However, I think that in discussing vaccine issues it is important for one to know the facts and not develop an opinion based on feelings or misinformation. Hey, do know this. I love you all and will not discriminate against anyone who has an opinion different than mine.

Let’s start with the federal government first. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has certainly shaken things up at the CDC. Back in June he dismissed all of the members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He has a right to do that and I am sure that was his way of making sure no one has their “hand in the cookie jar” so to speak. So, he appointed another 19 people on the committee. They met this last week to establish guidelines on the COVID-19 vaccine. Guess what they came up with? (Pause) It’s up for each individual to decide! That’s great to say but we were all hoping for some statement on efficacy and safety.

So here is where some of you may want to hear my opinion. The benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the side effects. That being said, do I recommend the vaccine to everyone? – no. However, for the most part it is not because I feel that it is a dangerous vaccine. For those of you who feel that the vaccine was quickly rushed through the pipeline without adequate studies I can see how you feel that way. However, the mRNA technology for vaccine development had been in the work for decades. It could not be specifically tested against COVID, however, because the COVID virus did not exist until 2019. Operation Warp Speed okayed the development of themRNA technology to be used against COVID because the public was desperate for something to be done.

Of course, in 2020, many other things were being done to try to stop the spread of the virus because so many people were dying. The purpose of this article is not to go into all of that but to just speak about the vaccine. This is what we know about the virus and the vaccine. For the most part, the people who died due to COVID were the elderly, obese, or otherwise medically vulnerable. Basically, they did not have a healthy enough immune system to survive it. Even those of us with a healthy immune system who got COVID in those first two years probably felt like we were going to die, but we fought it off. So, what we know now is that the vaccine stimulates our immune system to fight the virus but does not necessarily prevent you from getting it. If you do get a COVID illness, your immune system has already been jump started and you are likely to have a much less prolonged illness and milder symptoms. We also know that the virus can mutate and the vaccine against COVID needs to change for that reason. Much like the Flu shot changes every year.

So, who do I recommend get the COVID vaccine and its variants – those who are most medically vulnerable. Patients with immune insufficiencies, and those with significant cardiac or respiratory issues top the list. It is recommended for people over 65 but I don’t give that age as an absolute if they are otherwise very healthy.

There is one category of people that you need to give pause – young males ages 18-24. For some reason that we are not sure, this category of men had a higher propensity than the rest of the population of developing myocarditis – inflammation of the heart muscle. Approximately 55 cases/ a million doses were reported after receiving the 2nd COVID vaccine. This compares to about 2-10 cases/ one million 2nd doses in other age groups. In total about 1,600 cases were reported. It is even more confusing because COVID itself has also been shown to cause myocarditis. Research was started to see if there was some genetic marker in the receivers of the vaccine that developed myocarditis but those studies have been shut down for some reason.

Ok, now on to other vaccines. I will particularly address the seven vaccines that protect against 11 infectious diseases, both viral and bacterial, that as of 1991 have been mandated to be able to attend public schools in the state of Florida. The reason this needs to be addressed is because earlier this month Florida’s Surgeon General, Joseph Lapado, MD, declared that he was going to do his best to get rid of all mandated vaccines to attend school in Florida. For background information 3 vaccines – DPT, MMR, and Polio – were enacted into law by the Florida legislature in the 1980’s. Four vaccines – Chicken pox, Hepatitis B, H. influenza, and pneumococcal conjugate – were added as mandates by the Department of Health in the 1990’s. The Department of Health in Florida is under the jurisdiction of the Surgeon General so these four vaccine mandates are the only ones that Lapado can go after for now. When asked why he wants to get rid of the mandates he stated that “every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.” He said nothing about their safety or efficacy. He further stated, “Whom am I to tell you as a parent what to put in to your child’s body?” You are the head of “public” health in the state that is who you are. When asked later if he had done any modeling to predict what might happen in 5-10 years if a significant amount of people doesn’t vaccinate their children he stated, “I don’t need to, I just believe the vaccines shouldn’t be mandated.” I say get another job if you won’t do the duties of your job to protect the health of the citizens of Florida. Florida already has a very lenient pathway to opt out. One way is through medical contraindication, signed off by a physician. The other way if for a parent to say “it is against my religion.” No one questions this or denies them this reasoning.

Vaccines are among the most effective tools in modern medicine. They have led to the near-eradication or dramatic reduction of diseases like smallpox, polio, measles, and whooping cough. Still, concerns and controversies remain, especially around the question: do vaccines cause autism? It’s important to look carefully at what science has found — and what claims have been debunked.