Neurosurgeon in a county at high risk from the coronavirus gets local paper to share the facts about the virus and the vaccines

In a big Kentucky county with a low coronavirus vaccination rate, a critical infection rate and Covid-19 patients filling its intensive-care beds, a doctor reached out to his local newspaper to voice his concerns.

Dr. Amr El-Naggar

Neurosurgeon Amr El-Naggar, a native of Egypt, said "he understands the freedom of choice, but wanted every member of the public to truly consider what that freedom means," the Somerset Commonwealth Journal reports.

“I became a U.S. citizen 26 years ago, and one of the things that I learned is to appreciate freedom. This is the number one thing that I’m proud of. But I try to use my freedom in a correct way. I choose to live freely. I do not choose to die freely,” he said. “I have the freedom to take the vaccine or not. But I recommend you use your freedom to live and let your children live, and to enjoy the taste and smell of food and flowers. We do not have to give up those things that are gifts from God.”

In Pulaski County, only 40 percent of residents have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the county's infection rate has put it in the state's "red zone" and is taxing Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. 

“Two days ago, there were no open beds in the whole, and no ICU beds at all in the hospital,” El-Naggar said. “This condition waxes and wanes, but I’m aware there are big hospitals in the state that do not have any ICU beds at all. Beds are filling up very quickly. Much quicker than we did a year ago.”

In the interview, El-Naggar explained why unvaccinated people should get vaccinated even though the latest research shows that vaccinated people can still get and transmit the virus.

“The simple answer, my friend, is that ‘You get to live!’. . . If you are vaccinated, there is a chance you can get a breakthrough infection, but if you do you are going to probably get treated as an outpatient and still have your life. At worst you may be hospitalized for a few days, get treated then released!”

He said all the hospital's Covid-19 patients are unvaccinated, and “Many of them are young, and many are critical!” That's true all over the nation, he said.

“It is a statistical fact that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines protect you from the virus in the order of 95%. It is also a statistical fact that about 95% of hospitalized Covid patients who require high levels of oxygenation and/or are on ventilators in critical care units are among the unvaccinated.”

El-Naggar also debunked myths about the vaccines' use of genetic material known as messenger RNA: “Our DNA, which is the main gene codes of our body, are in the nucleus of the cell. The cell has a nucleus in the middle, and is surrounded by this cytoplasm, sort of like if you have a house and have the big yard or farm around it. The DNA lives in the house, or the core. And it sends the messenger RNA out. The first thing it does is expel it out of the nucleus. It goes into the cytoplasm or the yard. But the messenger RNA does not have the ability to reenter the nucleus. In other words, it goes out into the yard of the farm, and it can never be allowed to enter into the house again.”

The doctor also said there is no evidence that the vaccines affect female fertility, and “People might be surprised to know that it is recommended that pregnant women be vaccinated. If a pregnant woman gets infected with the Covid Delta variant, it puts her at a high risk of developing a severe illness and increases the probability of hospitalization and critical-care needs.”