It's all we hear about these days.
CoVID-19 has taken over our daily lives in every sense. But there's a way we can get control back. We can get vaccinated.
But what about our questions?
You've come to the right place.
Why We Need It
CoVID-19 is a novel coronavirus, which means it's a new form of the viruses in its class. This makes it tricky. We don't know everything about this virus, nor can we predict it.
We know that viruses can cause lasting effects even after the symptoms go away. For example, the chickenpox virus (varicella zoster) causes an itchy rash, fever, and illness when it infects a child. If the child survives and those symptoms go away, the virus embeds itself in the body and hides out for decades, emerging later in life as a neurological rash that causes extreme pain and can even lead to blindness, deafness, and death.
The truth is, we don't know what future health problems CoVID-19 will cause those who are infected now. Will it be chronic asthma? Emphysema? Seizures? Brain damage?
Are you willing to wait and see what happens to you?
Getting a vaccine against CoVID-19 now will allow your body to strengthen itself against the virus, presventing severe infection and lessening your chances of developing deadly consequences later on. Since vaccines teach your body how to combat disease, you will be more prepared to kick the infection before it even has time to settle in. It could save your life now. It could save your life later.
"Shingles" outbreak on a patient who had chickenpox as a child. photo from: https://www.primarycare.theclinics.com/article/S0095-4543(15)00040-8/fulltext
Vaccine Ingredients
A breakdown of the largest components of the CoVID-19 vaccine, thanks to UC Health. You can view more here:
What's in this new vaccine?
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Like all vaccines, the ingredients are safe, well-researched, and necessary to get the job done. Most of these ingredients are also in substances you can find anywhere in your home, such as in vegetables, sugar, and even table salt.
But what about those long, crazy-looking names on the ingredients list? How can those be considered safe if I can't even pronounce them?
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Completely understandable. These names are referred to as the "chemical name" of substances and are mostly used for scientists and manufacturers to document specifically what is inside that vial of vaccine.
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How does that make a vaccine any safer?
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Because if there were any questions at all about the makeup of the vaccine, or if there was any doubt about quality of ingredients, the scientists can pinpoint the area and accurately determine the next steps. It's an extra layer of protection!
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Isn't each vaccine different in terms of contents? How do I know what's best for me?
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Speaking technically, yes there are some very minuscule differences between each of the three vaccines on the market. But not anything that has led to scientists recommending one over the other for specific groups of people.
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If you have questions about which vaccine is better for you or your health conditions, speak with your doctor for the best advice. They'll be happy to guide you.
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Fun Quiz! Do you know what methyl 2-aminobenzoate is?
It's grape flavor!
See how a long scary scientific name actually translates into something very common?
Vaccine Safety
The anatomy of the coronavirus, showing where the active components of the vaccines come from. This image comes from:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532743-500-were-beginning-to-understand-the-biology-of-the-covid-19-virus/
The CoVID-19 vaccine came out quickly. But the science behind it has been around for years.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines contain mRNA from the coronavirus.
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mRNA is the secret genetic code behind all living things
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Making a vaccine using the genetic code of this living virus is an excellently effective way of ensuring the vaccine will work and the protection will be lasting.
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Your body reads the mRNA given to it by the vaccine and can make a precise defense agaisnt the organism that the mRNA codes for.
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Johnson and Johnson's Janssen vaccine contains a "viral vector"--a fragment of the spike that comes off of the coronavirus itself.
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The vaccine goes into your body and brings the piece of the coronavirus (which is only an amputated piece, not enough to actually make you sick) to your immune system's cells. From there, your cells study it and begin making a defense system against the particle
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this allows for your body to be on alert for proteins of similar content, making it harder for you to get sick when you come into contact with a real live coronavirus!
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Let's Talk Side Effects: Short-term and Long-term
We hear all the time that people we know had "side effects" after getting the vaccine--anything from headache and nausea, to fever and muscle aches. It's important to know that this is normal. This is to be expected. And these small side effects usually pass by very quickly.
Nervous about what happens ten years after you get the vaccine? Twenty years? The question can be turned around from our first few paragraphs--we don't know what the coronavirus will cause in ten or twenty years. We do, however, know from experience that vaccines are safe and effective and do not have an increased risk of long-term effects. We know this because we have decades of data from past vaccine trials (and data!) that tell us so.
What we DO know for certain: the CoVID-19 vaccine does not affect fertility, does not change your DNA, does not cause birth defects, and does not cause you to become magnetic or diseased.
Important Take-Aways and Ways We All Can Repair the World
First and foremost: GET YOUR SHOT. Protect yourself and the ones your love by joining the cause to stop this disease from further ravaging our world.
Secondly: PREVENT MISINFORMATION. Only share and discuss relevant, scientific, evidence-based information with the world. Reliable places to obtain this information are from your doctor, from the CDC, the NIH, and factually cited sources such as tikkunolamvax.com.
Lastly: PROMOTE. The only way we can stop this virus is if we all come together as one and do our part as a community. Share your story, share your reasons for vaccinating. Love one another and protect one another as we are called to do.
