My name is William Pomat and I want you to know that vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, prevent infections and save lives.
I am now the Director of the PNGIMR, but my career began as a laboratory researcher (scientist), conducting research into how vaccines initiate an immune response and thereby protect children against pneumonia. My team and I have conducted a number of clinical trials on vaccines culminating in the introduction of pneumococcal vaccine into the immunization schedule in 2015, a journey that started in the 1970s by Ian Riley and Bob Douglas. These two gentlemen saw pneumonia as the main killer in those days and initiated research into prevention measures to save lives. In the last two years, we are continuing this work to understand whether probiotics will enhance the effects of childhood vaccines and protect them against vaccines that have lower efficacies.
Immunization is an effective public health tool to prevent infections. As children, many of us received vaccines as part of the immunization program to stop us from getting infections such as pneumonia, small pox, tetanus, diphtheria, measles, hepatitis and polio. Today as adults we continue to live because of these life-saving shots early in our lives. Our children have themselves received these life-saving vaccines and continue to thrive.
Scientists like me in PNG and others around the world have gained knowledge as we worked on these vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly because the scientists built on decades of careful scientific work in making and testing vaccines that are effective and safe.
COVID-19 vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the Astra Zeneca vaccine, are now available to prevent COVID-19 infections from getting worse. Knowing about how vaccines are developed and tested and their life saving quality, I made up my mind to be vaccinated against COVID-19, at the earliest opportunity. This opportunity arose when I was among a few Eastern Highland PHA staff and colleagues from IMR to receive our first dose of AstraZeneca during the launch of the vaccine in Eastern Highlands on 5th May 2021. This story is featured in IMR news (see picture).
Before receiving my first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, I was infected with COVID-19 during the easter weekend of 2021, and was evacuated to Port Moresby. I was lucky and only had the moderate symptoms of high temperatures, headache, high sugar levels, lethargy and some breathlessness, but I was still fearful. I was isolated at home in Port Moresby, which helps a lot and am very grateful to my wife and staff at IMR for taking care of me.
Getting the vaccine give us some reassurance that we are safe from the virus. This is because vaccines reduces transmission of the virus plus initiates protective immune response on recognizing the virus. Those who are vaccinated are protected from serious illness and death. And if we do get the virus again, as we most likely will because COVID-19 infections are so widespread right now, we will not be as sick as if we did not receive the vaccine.
So please get yourself vaccinated with one of the available COVID-19 vaccines and protect yourself, your family, your community and most importantly our health workers who will attend to you if you get sick. Getting vaccinated will also help us to return to our normal lives without fear of contracting a dangerous disease. It will also ease the strain on our ailing health system.