The Latest: How to combat anti-Asian rhetoric
Dear Reader,
In light of the horrific anti-Asian attacks happening in the United States, I urge you to support and protect your Asian American neighbors, who have experienced nearly 3,800 hate incidents in the past year. These attacks have been spurred in part by the racist language used by Donald Trump and other politicians to falsely link the coronavirus and Asian people. You can help by addressing such misinformation when you encounter it: Remember, the coronavirus doesn’t discriminate by race, and it can infect and be spread by anyone.
We have come a long way in beating Covid-19, and we must continue working together to reach the finish line. Some good news is that AstraZeneca is expected to seek authorization for its vaccine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the next month or so. If the FDA allows it, that will bring the number of available vaccines in the United States to four. We’ve already administered 110 million doses, and having another vaccine on hand will help us reach herd immunity even faster.
You might have heard that some countries have paused their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, citing concerns that it’s linked to blood clots. But rest assured that scientists are urging nations to keep using the AstraZeneca vaccine, and with good reason: There’s absolutely no evidence to show that it causes blood clots. A quick look at the data shows that the number of people who have developed blood clots after getting vaccinated isn’t that different from the number of people who would be expected to develop blood clots, regardless of whether they’d been vaccinated or not.
It’s far more risky to not get vaccinated. Make sure your family and friends know this!
As always, feel free to email me your thoughts and questions at yasmin@medium.com. I’d love to hear from you.
Stay safe and stay hopeful,
Yasmin Tayag
Editor, Medium Coronavirus Blog
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A quick Q&A: What’s going on with the AstraZeneca vaccine?
More than a dozen countries have suspended their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution, citing anecdotal reports of people who developed blood clots after getting vaccinated. But scientists have stated that there’s no evidence for a causal link between the two. Blood clots occur for a variety of reasons, and the number of people who have developed them after vaccination (about 30 out of 5 million vaccinated people in Europe) is considered pretty normal. Agencies are reviewing the company’s data, but the WHO has said that the vaccine can safely be used in the meantime. Read more.
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