The mission of the GCRN, as regulator of Naturopathic Medicine in the U.K., is and has always been, to offer its members and the wider public the most up-to-date balanced scientific evidence, in order to make an informed decision on the treatments they may or may not wish to receive. As an association, we are undoubtedly pro-choice and take the same consistent position with the COVID 19 vaccine.
We are neither pro nor anti-COVID vaccine but are supporting further consideration until we have a better understanding of the disease, as well as of the consequences of the vaccine in the longer term. As with all drugs, the efficacy and safety of any vaccine is not binary, and it is extremely important that the general public is kept informed of all available options.
The position of the GCRN at this point, having read through scientific papers available from highly recommended sources, is to take a considered approach to a novel vaccine that we do not yet fully understand, and to appreciate the potential health outcomes upon mass vaccinated populations. Here are several points we would like to highlight.
- Finding severe rare adverse events takes time and will require the study of tens of thousands of patients over time. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2770244. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6520/10…
- The PCR test used to detect cases has been shown to give false positives, which leads to overestimating COVID-19 incidence and the extent of asymptomatic infections. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/…
- We still do not know if the vaccine prevents transmission of SARS-CoV-2 or just protects against the illness, if it’s the latter, obtaining herd immunity via vaccination will be difficult https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/…
In absence of a speedy roll-out of the vaccine there are many proven positive changes that can be made at a personal level to improve and support health. At the GCRN one of the core policies we take is that we always work towards an integrative and holistic approach to health and nutrition as well as mental health and wellbeing. In addition, a healthy lifestyle including exercise plays an important role in maintaining good health and supporting our innate and efficient immune systems https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/healthy-lifestyle-5-keys-to-a-longer-life-2018070514186.
Here are some studies vindicating this approach:
- “On the importance of nutrition and having an appropriate diet so that the immune system can respond accordingly” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC73069…
- “Synergistic Effect of Quercetin and Vitamin C Against COVID-19 and if it has a Possible Guard for Front Liners”. (preprints from the Lancet) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3682517.
- “Possible application of high-dose vitamin C in the prevention and therapy of coronavirus infection” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC75531