Healthcare

Opinion – Julio Abramczyk: Vaccines and vitamins

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Interspersed with periods of decline or increase, the indicators of transmission of the Covid-19 virus suggest that the virus will remain in our midst, highlighting the importance of vaccinating the population.

Masks are no longer mandatory outdoors, but must be used in public transport and indoors.

Of the other preventive measures against the disease, in addition to always washing your hands, there is the poorly evaluated vaccination of part of the population.

At Duke University, doctor Peter A. Ubel analyzed the incongruity of the population, against most evidence, in believing more in vitamins and food supplements than in vaccination.

Vitamins, he explains, are necessary for life and in specific situations, such as scurvy or rickets. Studies and research have already proven that there is little evidence that they prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease or mortality.

However, it is easy to market unproven benefits of vitamin supplements while it is difficult to convince people to receive life-saving vaccines that have already ended diseases like polio and smallpox.

These people see the world in two parts: good/bad or with/against me.

With this dichotomous thinking, vitamins fall into the good and healthy category; vaccinations, sometimes a sore arm or flu-like symptoms.

With vitamins they experience the placebo effect, more energy and a greater sense of health and well-being.
It can be concluded that, as much as experts claim that the benefits of vitamin supplements are minimal or non-existent, scientific facts cannot compete with people’s lived experience.

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