[Critique Group 1] Reminder pieces for our 2/24/21 meeting was yesterday

[sitting.duck at springmail.com]

February has flown by. I checked with Leonard. Indeed, our pieces were due yesterday. I haven't had internet so just getting in to submit mine, and I promised Leonard I would go ahead and do the reminder since he won't be able to do it until tomorrow.

Cleora
618 words
Stick or No Stick
by C. S. Boyd

Whether or not to get the COVID19 vaccine shot is a question on everyone's mind. Currently, there are five vaccines to choose from not including the ones from Russia and China. I'm not a medical practitioner. The following information is intended to help you better understand the approach of the different manufacturers and provide you with a better understanding of what that decision involves. 

The MRNA messenger types are from Pfizer and Moderna. These are the ones that require the extreme low temperatures, and plant the virus in your cells with the hope the body will identify them as not you and create antibody’s against the virus. 

The Pfizer vaccine requires 2 shots 2 weeks apart. I'm told that the second shot may be administered within six weeks if it is not possible to get it in exactly 2 weeks. The Moderna expects the follow up shot in four weeks.

Two of the vaccines are from Johnson & Johnson /janssenpharmaceuticaals and AstraZeneca/university of oxford) The Oxford version was tested in South America and was not shown to be very effective so South Africa has declined to use it. These manufacturers use something call an adenovirus virus. adenovirus are viruses that can cause the common cold. We as humans have them, monkeys have them as do other animals. For years people have been using these viruses to deliver DNA which are instructions for proteins for the SARS2 vaccine. Researchers swap in a gene from COVID-19. When the vaccine is given to someone the immune system responds to the modified cold part and creates antibodies. Supposedly, you cannot get sick from this protein. The virus does its job and then goes away. This method has been around for a couple of decades, and was used for the Ebola virus, a different protein was delivered and was shown to be effective.

One company is using a monkey cold virus and the other is using a human virus. The idea is to use a virus that not many people have been exposed to. In the case that the person has already been exposed, the immune system will attack and destroy it before it can do its job.

One of the vaccines from Merck Sharpe & Dohme/International AIDS Vaccine initiative) Uses recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus. vesicular stomatitis virus. is a virus that primarily infects livestock (cows, horses, pigs). Here it is being used as a vector delivery system, much like the human or chimpanzee adenovirus. viruses. This method has worked well for delivering the instruction for COVID-19 into the cells. This candidate works really well against Ebola and has been proven in the field. People developed immunity to Ebola pretty quickly after getting the vaccine.

I believe the MRNA method is still fairly new. It may be a few years or even decades before we know the potential side effects of that method. If you have a history of adverse reactions to vaccines and/or prescription drugs, if you already have an overactive or compromised immune system, you will want to discuss the pros and cons of taking the vaccine and which one to choose with your physician. 

The claim of 95% effective means that you should not get the virus if exposed, but it does not prevent you from infecting others you may come in contact with. So far, all these can reasonably be expected to protect you from being hospitalized if you do get the virus, and if infected, the symptoms should be mild. One recent bit of information suggests that if you have already had the virus, getting the vaccine may result in you becoming seriously ill, and possibly dying from the virus.