One of the controversial topics in current medical practice is the COVID-19 vaccine. Because the vaccine was developed and tested in real time, we didn’t know what the long-term effects of the vaccination would be. And human nature being what it is, many of us threw the baby out with the bathwater, often blaming the vaccine for complications that actually arose from the virus itself.
And yet, we did come to realize that some forms of the vaccine had more severe, though rare, side effects than other formulations. I would note that those particular products were quickly taken off the market.
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~ George Miranda is the director of the UAB Medicine – Russell Medical Cancer Center.