Antivaxers: “If vaccination is introduced, it will be a disaster as the virus will mutate”
Preclinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine will begin on May 11, now it is being tested on animals, Vektor Russian scientific centre reported. While the whole world is rushing to invent a cure for the dangerous disease, the ranks of the anti-vaccination movement are not thinning even in the face of a deadly threat. Antivaxers interviewed by Realnoe Vremya are not afraid of the coronavirus and are ready to refuse vaccination when the vaccine is created. The pandemic that has swept the world is no worse than the flu, they say.
“I don't see the need for this”
In one of the anti-vaccination groups 'The Truth About Vaccinations', the first attached post speaks for itself: “Coronavirus is a worldwide hoax.” This is the interview with Pavel Vorobyov, the chairman of the Moscow City Scientific Society of Therapists, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, who is sure that there is no epidemic of coronavirus even close and it is just a “local outbreak of a previously unknown disease”.
Therefore, it is not surprising that parents interviewed by Realnoe Vremya who are in favour of refusing all vaccinations are not going to be vaccinated against coronavirus if a remedy for this scourge of our time is invented.
“It makes no sense to ask such question to people who hold the views of anti-vaccination," Anisa, a wedding stylist from Kazan, reacted aggressively to our survey.
Yulia Semyanovich from Mendeleevsk has two children — 20 and 8 years old, she is an activist of the interregional public movement People's Control. On her page in the social network, she actively posts materials about the epidemic, which is taking the lives of hundreds of people on the planet every day. But she would still refuse the coronavirus vaccination, if such is created.
“At the moment, the coronavirus is not as terrible as they are trying to present to the world. But if they introduce vaccination, it will be a disaster because the virus mutates, adapts and it will be extremely difficult to cure it. I began to speak out against vaccinations after I faced the consequences of post-vaccination complications with my older child. I started to study this topic. The younger has not been vaccinated at all, he almost never gets ill, even with cold," says Semyanovich.
Albina Gibadullina from Nizhnekamsk would also refuse to be vaccinated.
“I do not believe in the benefit of vaccination, especially since it will be a new vaccine, and what adverse reactions can be from it is a big question. Besides, coronavirus is no worse than the flu.
Her opinion is shared by Inna Olina and Regina Abdullina-Sorvina from Kazan:
“So far I don't see the need for this. Why? This is my decision. If we do not talk about vaccinations for children, then, in general, we do not get vaccinated against all infections in our lives. And, as far as I know, there is no vaccination against coronavirus yet," Abdullina-Sorvina told the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya.
What will we get vaccinated with?
The COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine was invented almost immediately after the outbreak in Wuhan. The Chinese were the first to tackle the problem, and now it is being developed all over the world, and there have already been statements that the first samples are being tested.
In Russia, the COVID-19 vaccine is being developed in Saint Petersburg (Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums) and Kazan (Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of the KFU). Six prototypes of vaccines have been developed at the Vektor scientific centre: research has already been conducted on mice, ferrets and rabbits, and primates were immunized with two prototypes of the vaccine, said Rinat Maksyutov, the director of the centre. According to him, pre-clinical trials are scheduled to start on May 11.
On April 1, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced at a meeting with the president of Russia that the first clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine on 60 volunteers will start on June 29.
Hong Kong reported that the development of the an anti-influenza-based vaccine was completed at the end of January 2020 but announced that animal testing would last several months, and human clinical trials would last at least a year.
In China, similar statements were made a month later — in the last days of February.
In the United States, the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute (Seattle) announced that it has begun testing the mRNA-1273 vaccine on 45 volunteers.
The evelopment of a coronavirus vaccine is also underway in Israel, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia.
According to the forecasts of scientists — both foreign and domestic experts agree on this — the COVID-19 vaccine will not appear on the market of medical products until 2021.