MAY 22, 2021
SINGAPORE — Referring to an open letter by 12 doctors to parents questioning the long-term safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use on children, Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon said he was “aghast and disappointed” by the doctors’ conduct.
In a Facebook post on Saturday (May 22), he wrote that the “unscientific and unprofessional” way in which these doctors had interpreted scientific evidence and conducted themselves had also “created confusion and fear” in the public.
“It created confusion and fear in the public and propagated myths and untruths,” wrote Dr Koh, who is a colorectal surgeon.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, one of the two Covid-19 vaccines approved for use here, was earlier this week approved by the Health Sciences Authority to be safe for use for those between the ages of 12 and 15.
The letter from the doctors, dated May 20 and addressed to parents who are deciding whether to vaccinate their children, contained a list of issues that the doctors urged parents to think through carefully before choosing to inoculate their children against Covid-19.
The original letter mentioned the following doctors along with their medical licence numbers: Dr Benny KH Tan, Dr Chia AM, Dr Clement Lai, Dr Colleen Thomas, Dr CT Tan, Dr Diane Jek, Dr Judy Chen, Dr Kee Leng Chee, Dr Kho Kwang Po, Dr Khoo Boo Kian, Dr Paul IW Yang and Dr Suzie Lee.
Eleven of the doctors, excluding Dr Khoo, eventually retracted their letter and said they were withdrawing their “humble ponderings” as some of their thoughts may be misunderstood by some laypersons.
“We will henceforth ponder in a more professional and private forum,” they said.
In a statement on Friday, Singapore’s expert committee on coronavirus vaccination responded to that letter and laid out its reasons for deeming the vaccine to be safe and efficacious for this age group.
The doctors’ letter cited a study suggesting that the RNA from Sars-Cov-2 — the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 — can be converted into DNA using an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which the doctors said is “very troubling”.
The statement from the expert committee clarified that the vaccine, which makes use of messenger ribonucleic acid technology (mRNA), cannot alter a person’s DNA.
Dr Koh said he was “glad” to see other doctors stepping up and speaking out against such untruths.
“I urge all of us to get our information from reliable sources… The fight against Covid-19 will continue to evolve as new data and development present themselves,” he added.
“We need to navigate this with scientific rigor and not let our emotions or personal biases create more confusion.”
--------
‘Pfizer vaccine is safe, effective for those aged 12 to 15’: Covid-19 expert committee addresses concerns of some Singapore doctors
By TESSA OHMAY 21, 2021
SINGAPORE — The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children aged 12 to 15, Singapore’s expert committee on coronavirus vaccination has stressed, as it addressed concerns raised in an open letter to parents penned by a dozen doctors.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, one of the two Covid-19 vaccines approved for use here, was earlier this week approved by the Health Sciences Authority to be safe for use for those between the ages of 12 and 15.
The letter from the doctors, dated May 20 and addressed to parents who are deciding whether to vaccinate their children, contained a list of what the doctors thought parents should be thinking through carefully before choosing to inoculate their children against Covid-19.
In a statement on Friday (May 21), the expert committee responded to that letter and laid out its reasons for deeming the vaccine to be safe and efficacious for this age group.
It clarified that the vaccine, which makes use of messenger ribonucleic acid technology (mRNA), cannot alter a person’s DNA.
This comes after the doctors’ letter cited a study suggesting that the RNA from Sars-Cov-2 — the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 — can be converted into DNA using an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which the doctors said is “very troubling”.
In its statement, the committee said that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comprises mRNA that contains the "instructions" to enable the vaccine recipient to build a protein component of the Sars-Cov-2 virus — also known as the spike protein.
“The spike protein does not cause infection, but is recognised by the body’s immune system as foreign. The body then mounts an immune response and produces antibodies that protects against future infection by virus,” the committee said.
The vaccine mRNA is broken down by the body rapidly after the spike protein is built. It is unable to produce more copies of itself and cannot enter the nucleus of the human cell where human genetic material, or DNA, is stored.
“Since the human genome is made up of DNA, it is not biologically plausible for the vaccine mRNA to be integrated or to interfere with the DNA of the vaccine recipient,” the committee stressed.
The doctors’ letter had also called for a "killed-virus vaccine", also known as an inactivated vaccine, to be approved for use here.
Unlike the newer mRNA technology, this approach uses a weakened or inactivated virus in the vaccine that is modified so that it no longer causes illness.
It is the approach used for existing vaccines used for the common flu, hepatitis A, chickenpox and others.
Responding to this, Associate Professor Benjamin Ong, who is the chairman of the expert committee, said that there is no inactivated Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in children yet.
The committee also pointed out that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only Covid-19 vaccine now that is authorised for teenagers aged 12 to 15 worldwide.
It added that there is as yet “no credible evidence of an inactivated-virus vaccine demonstrating a high vaccine efficacy and safety profile among this age group”.
The 14-member expert committee was announced in October last year. Apart from Assoc Prof Ong, who is the senior adviser to the director of medical services at the Ministry of Health and the senior vice-president of Health Education and Resources at the National University of Singapore, the committee includes other experts in infectious diseases, immunology and other relevant fields.
DOCTORS WITHDRAW STATEMENTS
In its statement on Friday, the committee said that 11 out of 12 of the doctors who signed the letter have since retracted it.
The original letter mentioned the following doctors along with their medical licence numbers: Dr Benny KH Tan, Dr Chia AM, Dr Clement Lai, Dr Colleen Thomas, Dr CT Tan, Dr Diane Jek, Dr Judy Chen, Dr Kee Leng Chee, Dr Kho Kwang Po, Dr Khoo Boo Kian, Dr Paul IW Yang and Dr Suzie Lee.
When contacted by TODAY, Dr Chen from Pariqua Clinic confirmed the open letter’s veracity.
In a second letter circulating on messaging platforms, the doctors said that they would like to “withdraw all our humble ponderings as some of our thoughts may be misunderstood by some laypersons”.
“We will henceforth ponder in a more professional and private forum,” they said.
Dr Khoo is the only doctor who did not sign the letter of retraction.
The expert committee said that the Singapore population, including adolescents, continue to “remain at risk of Covid-19 infection and onward transmission to their close contacts”, citing the example of the recent cases involving school-going children.
“While the international experience is that Covid-19 appears milder in the younger age groups, there remains a risk of complications and long-lasting symptoms in children and adolescents.
“The expert committee therefore recommends that with the availability of a safe and efficacious vaccine, all eligible persons should receive the vaccine to attain as high a population coverage of Covid-19 vaccination as possible,” it said.
- Singapore’s expert committee on vaccines said again that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is safe for children
- This comes after doctors here raised concerns in an open letter
- The committee clarified some of these concerns in a statement
- It said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved for children so far
SINGAPORE — The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children aged 12 to 15, Singapore’s expert committee on coronavirus vaccination has stressed, as it addressed concerns raised in an open letter to parents penned by a dozen doctors.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, one of the two Covid-19 vaccines approved for use here, was earlier this week approved by the Health Sciences Authority to be safe for use for those between the ages of 12 and 15.
The letter from the doctors, dated May 20 and addressed to parents who are deciding whether to vaccinate their children, contained a list of what the doctors thought parents should be thinking through carefully before choosing to inoculate their children against Covid-19.
In a statement on Friday (May 21), the expert committee responded to that letter and laid out its reasons for deeming the vaccine to be safe and efficacious for this age group.
It clarified that the vaccine, which makes use of messenger ribonucleic acid technology (mRNA), cannot alter a person’s DNA.
This comes after the doctors’ letter cited a study suggesting that the RNA from Sars-Cov-2 — the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 — can be converted into DNA using an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which the doctors said is “very troubling”.
In its statement, the committee said that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comprises mRNA that contains the "instructions" to enable the vaccine recipient to build a protein component of the Sars-Cov-2 virus — also known as the spike protein.
“The spike protein does not cause infection, but is recognised by the body’s immune system as foreign. The body then mounts an immune response and produces antibodies that protects against future infection by virus,” the committee said.
The vaccine mRNA is broken down by the body rapidly after the spike protein is built. It is unable to produce more copies of itself and cannot enter the nucleus of the human cell where human genetic material, or DNA, is stored.
“Since the human genome is made up of DNA, it is not biologically plausible for the vaccine mRNA to be integrated or to interfere with the DNA of the vaccine recipient,” the committee stressed.
The doctors’ letter had also called for a "killed-virus vaccine", also known as an inactivated vaccine, to be approved for use here.
Unlike the newer mRNA technology, this approach uses a weakened or inactivated virus in the vaccine that is modified so that it no longer causes illness.
It is the approach used for existing vaccines used for the common flu, hepatitis A, chickenpox and others.
Responding to this, Associate Professor Benjamin Ong, who is the chairman of the expert committee, said that there is no inactivated Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in children yet.
The committee also pointed out that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only Covid-19 vaccine now that is authorised for teenagers aged 12 to 15 worldwide.
It added that there is as yet “no credible evidence of an inactivated-virus vaccine demonstrating a high vaccine efficacy and safety profile among this age group”.
The 14-member expert committee was announced in October last year. Apart from Assoc Prof Ong, who is the senior adviser to the director of medical services at the Ministry of Health and the senior vice-president of Health Education and Resources at the National University of Singapore, the committee includes other experts in infectious diseases, immunology and other relevant fields.
DOCTORS WITHDRAW STATEMENTS
In its statement on Friday, the committee said that 11 out of 12 of the doctors who signed the letter have since retracted it.
The original letter mentioned the following doctors along with their medical licence numbers: Dr Benny KH Tan, Dr Chia AM, Dr Clement Lai, Dr Colleen Thomas, Dr CT Tan, Dr Diane Jek, Dr Judy Chen, Dr Kee Leng Chee, Dr Kho Kwang Po, Dr Khoo Boo Kian, Dr Paul IW Yang and Dr Suzie Lee.
When contacted by TODAY, Dr Chen from Pariqua Clinic confirmed the open letter’s veracity.
In a second letter circulating on messaging platforms, the doctors said that they would like to “withdraw all our humble ponderings as some of our thoughts may be misunderstood by some laypersons”.
“We will henceforth ponder in a more professional and private forum,” they said.
Dr Khoo is the only doctor who did not sign the letter of retraction.
The expert committee said that the Singapore population, including adolescents, continue to “remain at risk of Covid-19 infection and onward transmission to their close contacts”, citing the example of the recent cases involving school-going children.
“While the international experience is that Covid-19 appears milder in the younger age groups, there remains a risk of complications and long-lasting symptoms in children and adolescents.
“The expert committee therefore recommends that with the availability of a safe and efficacious vaccine, all eligible persons should receive the vaccine to attain as high a population coverage of Covid-19 vaccination as possible,” it said.
And who might these so-called experts be? (Glad you asked)
They are:
- Dr Cheong Wei Yang, the deputy secretary of special projects at MOH
- Assoc Prof Chong Chia Yin, a senior consultant and director at the Division of Medicine at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital
- Professor Nicholas Gascoigne from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at NUS
- Assoc Prof Lim Poh Lian, director of the High Level Isolation Unit at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID)
- Assoc Prof David Lye, director of the Infectious Diseases Research and Training Office at NCID
- Assoc Prof Helen Oh, a senior consultant at Changi General Hospital
- Dr Lisa Ooi, the vice-president of healthcare and wellness at the Economic Development Board
- Dr Anuradha Poonepalli, a regulatory consultant from the Health Sciences Authority
- Assoc Prof Ren Ee Chee, principal investigator at the Singapore Immunology Network under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research
- Prof Laurent Renia, senior principal investigator at the Singapore Immunology Network
- Dr Benjamin Seet, group chief research officer of the National Healthcare Group
- Dr Danny Soon, chief executive officer of the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore
- Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, the chief health scientist at MOH
A doctor (like Dr Koh) would be right to ask, "who are these 12 doctors to raise such uninformed questions in an open letter (non-peer-reviewed) and raise doubts, create confusion, and cast suspicions on a public health initiative with nothing more than their "humble ponderings" from misreading (or misunderstanding) a study on reversed-transcibed RNA?"
But Dr Koh is not JUST a doctor. And these 12 doctors are behaving like the woman who thinks she is "sovereign" and do not need to wear a mask. These doctors are undermining our efforts to bring this pandemic under control. These 12 doctors are behaving unscientifically and claiming greater expertise than the expert committee. And these 12 doctors are making fundamental errors in understanding, confusing RNA with mRNA, and equating the two, and based on (the miscomprehension of) one study on RECOVERED Covid19 patients who were still shedding viral RNA.]
No comments:
Post a Comment