Livingston Today

Michigan health officials are saying that, although questions remain about the side effects of a new vaccine to prevent the COVID-19 virus, enough is known to distribute the drug in Michigan.

An FDA advisory committee recommended approval after a nine-hour hearing on Dec. 10. The committee voted 17-4, with one abstention, to go ahead after a debate about the drug’s safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed 10,752 people in the state with a total of almost 438,000 infected, according to Michigan.gov.

Some complained about the lack of long-term information and the side effects the drug could have on the elderly, those with HIV or severe allergic reactions.

“We really don't know what the short- and long-term harms are given the short duration of data," Kim Witczak, consumer advocate for drug safety, told Bridge Michigan.

Proponents of the vaccine have argued that what is known about the drug to date outweighs the risks of side effects. 

Michigan is set to receive 250,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, a drug developed in conjunction with German company BioNTech, to provide immunity to Michigan residents. Approximately 173,600 doses of another vaccine from Moderna will also be provided.

The report indicated that the first delivered doses will go to hospitals, health departments and clinics. The first to receive doses will be health care workers and those most at risk, such elderly residents of nursing homes. There are approximately 602,000 health care workers in Michigan.

The vaccine will require special security precautions to deliver and freezing storage facilities at minus-94-degree temperature to preserve its potency.

Health officials conceded that convincing members of the public who are dubious about the product’s safety to get a vaccination could be a challenge.

“I’m not actually concerned about reaching people. We did that with H1N1 (2009 flu pandemic),” Linda Vail, health officer for the Ingham County Health Department, told Bridge Michigan. “I’m concerned about multiple different kinds of people who have hesitancy about the vaccine. That is the greater work with this vaccine.”

Asked if the vaccine is safe, Dr. Paul Offit, infectious disease specialist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, indicated that based on what is known so far, he believes it’s safe.

“It's never an issue of whether you know everything,” he told Bridge Michigan. “The question is whether you know enough. What we have is clear evidence of the benefit. All we have on the other side is theoretical risk.”

Offit added that the vaccine will be continually be monitored as the process of distribution moves ahead.