Sunday, January 17, 2021

The COVID-19 Vaccine Explained

Not actually Erin.
& is used with permission.
This is an informative post, not a political post. 

If you're like me, you have some questions about the COVID-19 vaccination, such as:
  • How can it work? I thought viruses mutated and that's why we can't vaccinate against them. 
  • What is mRNA and what does it have to do with a vaccine?
  • Will this vaccine affect my DNA at all?
I am neither a doctor nor a scientist, so I cannot answer these questions for you myself. However, I know several doctors and scientists, and I am able to present to you some information about the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine that will allow you to make an informed decision about whether or not you want to take it. 

I have two ways to explain it: the short, colloquial version, and the more in-depth version which is less conversational. 

The Colloquial Explanation
These are a series of Tweets by a Canadian physician. I know that Twitter is not peer-reviewed, so I asked my Doctor of Microbiology friend to look at them and she said "Other than one typographical error it is correct."

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NOTE:
This is where the typographical error lies. "COVID carries its genetic material as RNA, not DNA," says my friend the Doctor of Microbiology.  I asked if this changed the information at all, or if it was simply a case of strike the word DNA in this Tweet and replace it with RNA? "Strike and replace," she says.

In fact, the person who originally tweeted this admitted and apologized for the typographical error as well.
 

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The Technical Explanation
The more in-depth and less colloquial version is too large to post here.  Cedar Sanderson, author and scientist, explains it in this post on her blog

Now You Know
And now you can make an informed decision whether or not to get vaccinated

6 comments:

  1. Science correction: Coronaviruses like the one causing COVID19 are RNA-based genomes. There is no DNA involved in the replication of the virus or expression of their genes.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, this was acknowledged. Look for the paragraph midway down that begins with "NOTE" in bold.

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  2. Except, by definition, viruses mutate their protein coat. That is why there is a new flu vaccine each year. (yes, COVID is the flu. That's why there is no "ordinary" flu this year. They are calling every virus COVID - it pays better) COVID is already mutating as seen in the news about a "new" COVID strain in Europe. This BS is all about sucking billions of bucks out of the gov't by Pharma.

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    1. This has already been addressed in slide 19:

      "What if the virus mutates so it doesn’t produce the asshole protein any more? Well, since it uses the asshole protein to get into your cells, if it mutates away from the asshole protein, it’ll probably also be less infectious. "

      Delete
    2. The vaccine targets the spike proteins, which are also what allows the virus to attach to, and enter, the cell. If the virus mutates and loses those spikes, then it will no longer be pathogenic (disease-causing).

      Coronavirii do mutate. Except that adaptation for more infectious strains also has the pressure for those strains to cause less symptoms - people who feel healthy are more likely to be out and passing germs around. People who get very ill (or die) don't pass on that strain of the virus. So that adaptation's not a bad thing, really.

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    3. Not quite, Stuart. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/viruses/types.htm https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/general-information.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html

      Delete

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