Humanity has faced a lot of global pandemics that have highly impacted people’s lives around the world. As a defence mechanism, scientists developed vaccines and drugs to help combat these viruses and diseases that have plagued the world throughout history. Despite being effective, there have been setbacks in the medicines and vaccines that were supposed to cure illnesses and conditions rather than damage the body further. One example of this was the Thalidomide tragedy.
Thalidomide Tragedy
During the 1950s, Thalidomide was developed in West Germany by the pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal GmbH. Originally designed to combat nausea and morning sickness, healthcare professionals prescribed the drug to pregnant women who experienced such symptoms during pregnancy. The drug was virtually impossible for testing on animals but was still deemed safe for humans back then.
Scientists and health professionals were unaware that the drug’s effects could be carried over to the unborn child through the placenta barrier, thus harming the fetus in the process. There were no clinical trials conducted for the drug on pregnant women due to the lack of awareness. Lack of clinical trials led to the drug being approved and available for over-the-counter purchase even without a doctor’s prescription.
The drug was manufactured and distributed to other countries worldwide under different brand names such as Distaval, Tensival, Valgraine, and Asmaval. Although widely used worldwide, the US did not approve the marketing and distribution of Thalidomide. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also rejected the drug due to a lack of testing and clinical evidence of safety. At one point, the distributing company even requested a pharmacologist to deny any nerve damage claims from patients who were long-term users of the drug.
It wasn’t until the 1960s when scientists discovered that the drug had significant side effects such as causing congenital disabilities to the children of women who took the pill during pregnancy. Unfortunately, several infants died shortly after birth in what could have been a preventable tragedy. Those who survived grew up with missing limbs or underdeveloped organs and had to get prosthetics to live a normal life.
Researchers were unable to quickly connect the drug to the side effects as it was already distributed under many names and in different countries. Warning statements from the UK government were not issued until 1962 – nearly a full decade since the drug had been in use. This significantly impacted the consumers, especially pregnant women, as thousands had already used the drug regularly and suffered severely from the side effects.
Overall, the history of the drug changed the way the world sees it even after it was repurposed as a cure for leprosy and other cancers such as multiple myeloma.
COVID-19 Vaccine: Emergency Approval
The COVID-19 vaccination was approved for emergency use due to the sudden impact of the pandemic around the world. The FDA initially approved the vaccine for adults and the elderly. The main goal of governments around the world was to achieve complete herd immunity. It meant that the vaccine was to be administered to majority of the adults. Despite being a new vaccine with limited testing, the rollout of the vaccine around the world continued. Many countries have even mandated citizens to be fully vaccinated.
It wasn’t long until researchers from the vaccine distributors wanted to roll out vaccination for individuals aged 18 and below. Although still starting on clinical trials, countries like the US and Canada have started administering the vaccine to children as young as 12 years old as most of the adult population in these countries have been fully vaccinated.
Although approved for use in adolescents and children, it is still unclear whether the vaccine has long term side effects. At present, most countries are on a mid-rollout of the vaccine for children aged 12 to 17 years.
Vaccinating Pregnant Women
With the emergency use of the vaccine, pregnant women were no exception. Pregnant women were considered at high risk of being severely affected by COVID-19 and were highly encouraged to take the vaccine to ensure maximum safety and immunity against the virus.
Much like the Thalidomide tragedy back in the 1950s, the COVID-19 vaccine has limited evidence of safety and effectiveness for pregnant women. This could mean that there are possibilities that the vaccine might cause adverse side effects on unborn children and may even harm the fetus in the process.
Bottomline
As we live in a time where we have advanced vastly in terms of research and development, we must learn from past mistakes. As parents, it is our responsibility to be better informed about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine on children, even the unborn, before taking action.
Be better informed by knowing your COVID-19 vaccination risk with our child vaccine safety quiz about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine to help you make a sound decision for your children.