We Are Not Guinea Pigs!  

Last week when I commented on the twin disasters of fire and floods that hit Accra, those who knew my story were surprised that I did not mention my own experience. Indeed, Yours truly had the misfortune of having his house flooded, when part of his wall was broken that fateful Wednesday.

Except for my mobile phone and one other electronic gadget, nothing was affected. Considering the extent of damage to life and property at Circle and other parts of the capital, I felt my experience was nothing compared to those. It was the reason I decided to keep mute on my experience. I still can't help but be grateful to the Bearded Old Man above for sparing my life and that of my family.

Having lost my phone and coupled with the fact that I was writing an ICM examination, I was oblivious of the news making headlines in the media last week. It wasn't until last Friday that I got hint of the Ebola vaccine trials in Asomdwekrom. My octogenarian friend, Komla Ahiave, was very distraught as he wondered why the health ministry allowed such a trial to take place on our shores.

I initially did not buy the story. But the reality finally sank in when I heard an interview with one doctor on one of the Akan speaking radio stations. He confirmed that the trials had already begun and gleefully added that there had been no side effects so far.

How livid I was! I became a little relieved when I heard that the Health Minister had halted the trials. It showed that at least someone in authority was listening to the voice of reason.

I later read on peacefmonline that the Deputy Energy Minister, John Jinapor, saw nothing wrong with the trials. He even mocked critics of the trial that whether they liked it or not people must sacrifice for the trials.

I agree with John that somebody must sacrifice. Since he is so passionate about the trial, why won't he sacrifice himself and his family? After all, he and his family also have blood running through their veins.

I offer the same suggestion to Prof Alex Duodoo. I agree the Ebola trial must be done, but not in this country. The best places for the trial are the countries that just got affected by the Ebola outbreak. No problem if Prof Duodoo disagrees. He can sacrifice himself and his family for the trial.

I don't usually agree with Wofa Kwesi Pee on issues; but I totally agree with him on this one. It is an insult to give volunteers a paltry GH¢200 and a mobile phone to be used as guinea pigs. Frankly, not even a trillion dollars would convince me to go for the Ebola vaccine trial.

The stuff I'm reading from the experts is frightening, to say the least. Ben Neuman, a virologist at the University of Reading in the UK, says because the Ebola vaccines are given to healthy people, they have the potential to do more harm than good if serious unexpected effects occur.

In 2007, for example, Merck and Co halted trials of once-promising AIDS vaccine after a study found that people who got the vaccine may have been more likely to contract HIV than those who did not.

Another virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston Texas, Thomas Geisbert, has argued that though some Ebola vaccines had shown some levels of effectiveness in animals, there was no guarantee that they would work effectively in humans.

Kartik Chandran, a microbiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, has argued that though some vaccines have been effective in monkeys, one could not assume the same would be true in humans. 'There have been nasty surprises before,' he concluded.

Yes, you heard right! There have been some nasty surprises during vaccine trials; and those nasty surprises are what we are guarding against.

I once again call on John Jinapor, Prof Alex Duodoo and their kind to offer themselves and their families if they are very passionate about the trial. So that if there are some nasty surprises, they and their families would suffer alone.

As for me and my fellow downtrodden, we are not ready to become guinea pigs because we fear nasty surprises. I needn't remind Mr Ogwanfunu that the fly that refuses to heed good counsel, follows the corpse into the grave.

See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!

By Agya Kwaku Ogboro