A recently published study from Israel compared vaccinated vs unvaccinated people who developed COVID 19. The study was huge. It evaluated the absolute risk of various events following vaccination vs no vaccination with COVID-19 infection. The absolute risk numbers are presented as # of events per 100,000 people. The data clearly shows safety of the vaccine and a large difference between vaccination vs no vaccination/infection. The study matched vaccinated individuals with unvaccinated individuals (before the vaccine was available) for various risk factors and followed the two groups for 42 days. Events were recorded during the 42-day study period.

Here is a summary of the findings. The vaccine was the mRNA vaccine (Pfizer).

“We used a data set involving more than 2.4 million vaccinated persons from an integrated health care organization to evaluate the safety profile of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. The main potential adverse events identified included an excess risk of lymphadenopathy (78.4 events per 100,000 persons), herpes zoster infection (15.8 events), appendicitis (5.0 events), and myocarditis (2.7 events).

To place these risks in context, we also examined data on more than 240,000 infected persons to estimate the effects of a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection on the incidence of the same adverse events. SARS-CoV-2 infection was not estimated to have a meaningful effect on the incidence of lymphadenopathy, herpes zoster infection, or appendicitis, but it was estimated to result in a substantial excess risk of myocarditis (11.0 events per 100,000 persons). SARS-CoV-2 infection was also estimated to substantially increase the risk of several adverse events for which vaccination was not found to increase the risk, including an estimated excess risk of arrhythmia (166.1 events per 100,000 persons), acute kidney injury (125.4 events), pulmonary embolism (61.7 events), deep-vein thrombosis (43.0 events), myocardial infarction (25.1 events), pericarditis (10.9 events), and intracranial hemorrhage (7.6 events).

Another particularly notable class of adverse events that has been reported in the context of Covid-19 vaccines is thromboembolic events. These adverse events, which primarily affect young women, have been linked with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19³² and Ad26.COV2.S (Johnson & Johnson–Janssen) Covid-19 vaccines,³³ both of which are adenoviral vector vaccines. However, we did not find an association between the BNT162b2 (mRNA) vaccine and various thromboembolic events in this study.”

We already know that vaccination substantially decreases the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death. The media has reported on potential, rare complications of the vaccine.  Those reports have frightened some people primarily because when the media report them in a sensational way, they do not compare the risk of the same events with infection. This study demonstrates that the rare complications of vaccination pale in comparison to the risk of the same complications with infection. This study also identifies several serious complications of infection that do not occur as a result of vaccination.

Read the article.

And here is a graphic display of the results:

In the context of the COVID 19 pandemic I will close with the usual summary.

1. Avoid alcohol consumption (alcohol wreaks havoc with your immunity)
2. Get plenty of sleep (without adequate sleep your immune system does not work well )
3. Follow good sleep habits
4. Exercise, especially out of doors in a green space, supports the immune system
5. Get some sunshine and make sure you have adequate Vitamin D levels. Supplement with Vitamin D3 to get your levels above 30 ng/ml. (read this Open Letter)
6. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet rich in micronutrients.
7. Practice stress reduction like meditation and yoga which improves the immune system
8. Eliminate sugar-added foods and beverages from your diet. These increase inflammation, cause metabolic dysfunction, and suppress immunity.
9. Eliminate refined-inflammatory “vegetable oils” from your diet, instead eat healthy fat.
10. Clean up your home environment and minimize your family’s exposure to environmental toxins by following recommendations at EWG.org with regards to household products, personal care products, and organic foods. (https://www.ewg.org/)
11. If you are over age 12 and eligible for vaccination, consider protecting yourself and your neighbor with vaccination.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob