"I just wonder, would Bronwyn still present this criticism against mRNA vaccines had China also been produced them?"

A petty and irrelevant comment which I shouldn't be dignifying with a response ... more fool me!

The Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines do not contain mRNA technology. We don't yet know their long term health effects, but I do admire the way the Chinese have freely shipped them around the world to countries experiencing the most difficulty in procuring vaccines. A huge contrast to Western countries who have clamoured to secure vaccines for their own populations and done little to help poorer nations.

"The real issues here are ethical and political in nature, not medical excuses as some would like to hide behind."

Yes, I agree, ethical and political issues are of course central to the vaccination debate. Health, however, is very much the overarching consideration. People who truly understand the difference managing ones health through natural means can make, as opposed to resorting to medical and pharmaceutical quick-fixes, are correct to have concerns about the long term health consequences of these injections ... both for themselves personally and for the overall health of the population they belong to.

The real issue is trust. I do not trust anything since this whole nonsense started. the media show the same 30 second clip of some disaster somewhere in the world and we are supposed to swallow it? Masks no good, then good and now essential indoors and out? Young people dying but then they admit were terminally ill? Now as little news as possible and blown out of all proportion and no detail because? Because full details would expose more lies.
I hesitate because you are untrustworthy All you idiots wanting a jab every day because you are frightened literally out of your wits reinforces my belief. Lastly a lot of people are getting rich, very rich out of us being frightened more and more.

"The main reason it used to take so long to get a vaccine to market is financial risk, and dealing with it."

I kind of figured that the biggest risk might be the potential for fast-tracked vaccines to have unintended side-effects, but I guess it's all about the money.

I heard somewhere that more people have now died from AstroZeneka than died from the atom bomb over Hiroshima.

Part 1 of 2:

Given I posted, I should address the list of concerns one reader had.
But first, an insight into what drug developers and regulators are thinking.

The risks of vaccines are born by individuals. The benefits are born by the community. This asymmetry has always been the case. No vaccine (or medical intervention, or new technology) is free of risk. But we must weigh risks and the benefits nonetheless. In the next 12-months, each of you will be exposed to covid as we go from pandemic to endemic (flu is endemic for example). The only question you need to ask is would I rather get exposed to covid vaccinated or unvaccinated. That is the basis of the risk analysis.

Now point by point.

1. The trials are short term only.

All new drugs face this issue. Regulators look through the preclinical and clinical data for any small sign of long term problems and then look at any potential types of theoretical harm based on the mechanism of action to look for. None of these vaccines showed any issues or they wouldn't be going into arms. The AZ vaccine showed hints of the thrombotic events (you'll remember the trial was halted a couple of times), but the risk benefit meant they kept going.

(an off-topic example to keep you thinking: Your use of mobile phones still has this problem. Regulators allowed them with no long term safety data. It has only been a decade or so we have been using them to the degree we do.)

2. The trials do NOT have a control group of unvaccinated people.

Here is the link to the Pfizer protocol and you will see the placebo group (by definition, unvaccinated). This point is just plain wrong. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04368728

Part 2 of 2:

3. The Pfizer and Moderna injections ARE indeed experimental. Their mRNA technology has NEVER before been injected into humans. Its long term effects are completely untested and unknown.

See above on long term safety. I have been responsible for a drug entering humans for the first time. Quite some responsibility. Phase 1 trials are small, patients are dosed with tiny doses one at a time to make sure there isn't any completely unforeseen problems. We (and the regulators) take that all very seriously.

4. Pfizer’s CEO, who is paid sixteen million dollars a year, has told the media he won't be taking his company’s Covid injection. Even that obscene amount of money won't induce him to risk his health on his own product!

Please do better. This is the kind of rubbish that creates vaccine hesitancy. https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-pfizer-ceovaccine-idUSL1N2PD1UX

5. Moderna, prior to the emergency authorization of its Covid injection, had never before produced a successful medicine or managed to get any of its nine or so vaccines approved by the FDA.

Yes, Moderna is a new(ish) company and developing new drugs and vaccines from scratch is a long process (which is why we are here reading this in the first place). Covid was a commercial boon for Moderna no doubt. They have products in development for Zika, Psoriasis (phase 1 trials in Melbourne as we speak), influenza and others. Moderna is not judged any differently from bigger companies by regulators. It contracts out the manufacture of the vaccine to a very reputable global company called Catalent at their plant in Indiana. Almost all drugs and vaccines are made by contract manufacturers. Again, this is one of those kinds of points that highlight the Kruger Dunning Effect. Sounds good until you actually understand the full picture.

Hope that is useful.

Interesting article.

Many wrongly assume that those choosing not to be vaccinated are all "hesitant". That is not so. Those not vaccinating include:

1. The "hesistant" (i.e "skeptical");
2. The anti vaxxers (i.e. believe it's the wrong thing to do); and
3. The apathetic (ie unmotivated).

Let's say that the above comprise 20% of the adult population, then to get to the magic number of 80% of adults (double dosed) vaccinated by Melbourne Cup Day (give or take a week), that means that every single adult who doesn't fall in the above groups ie the rest of the >16 year olds (including the indifferent amongst us) must roll up his/her sleeve.

I find it hard to believe we'll ever get to that magic 80% if there are no penalties or restrictions placed on those choosing to remain unvaccinated and insodoing, endangering the health of the rest of us.