Vaccine Insights

By Larry Bell,

Many people are understandably nervous, even skeptical, regarding whether the new vaccines are indeed safe for themselves and loved ones. They might wonder, for example, whether the efficacy and side-effect reviews were rushed so that “corners were cut” during clinical trials.

A very recent paper published by the University of Michigan Health Laboratory addresses many of my own concerns regarding whether to personally become vaccinated. Given that it is rather long and bit complicated, I have summarized what it says and fact-checked my “translation” with a PhD biogenetics friend who has held high level research director positions at leading pharmaceutical company and major university labs. You can access the original paper by clicking the URL.

Since this sort of “pass-along” reporting doesn’t really comport appropriately with my various op-ed publication venues, I am sharing it via this newsletter with only a few thousand of my very best friends.

The Michigan Health Lab explains that the vaccine development, testing and approval processes occurred faster than the more usual multi-year periods for several different reasons, yet followed the same safeguards.

Particularly important advantages were that modern scientific tools are faster than old ones; there was a world-wide effort to reduce or remove usual barriers and delays in vaccine research, production and distribution; and the large number of people who volunteered for clinical trials enabled rapid answers to key safety and efficacy questions.

Scientists and vaccine makers had been working for years to develop a new “platform” approach to be applied against new viruses that use messenger RNA (mRNA) as the delivery agent to teach the body how to recognize and fight the intruder.

The “m” in mRNA stands for “messenger” because it brings a coded message to tell the body’s immune system what to look for if a coronavirus gets in so that it can be recognized for a counterattack.  The mRNA is translated into protein by structures in cells called ribosomes.

Rapid coronavirus research which began in January 2020 was facilitated by modern “tools” which made it possible to “read” and recognize the genetic material of the coronavirus in mere days that previously took months.

Speedy clinical vaccine trial processes benefited from rapid pandemic spread which enabled researchers to determine within months how many volunteers who received vaccines got sick, compared with those who got placebos.

All vaccines receive independent panel reviews and approvals before being distributed under emergency rules that were put in place for situations where public health is at serious and immediate risk, as it is now. Vaccines that clinical trials show don’t work, or have unacceptable side effects, are thrown out.

The FDA also requires vaccine makers to track what happens to people who receive their vaccines during the field trials, and the CDC is responsible to monitor vaccine results outside of those studies.

Many unfounded public safety concerns about mRNA vaccines may arise from confusion about how viruses affect our bodies.

Some viruses, like one that causes chicken pox, can sleep in our cells for decades, only to wake up later to cause shingles. Other viruses, like HIV, bring their own copy of reverse transcriptase into cells, which enables them to convert RNA into DNA and become “stitched in” as part of the cell’s DNA.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines that are available now or are being tested contain an intact coronavirus, rather they contain mRNA that encodes the viral “spike” protein. Just enough mRNA in the vaccine is converted to protein to alert the immune system to the presence of the viral sequence.

In other words, the mRNA vaccines don’t need to enter the cell’s nucleus to accomplish their mission of teaching the immune system how to recognize the coronavirus.

There are some COVID-19 vaccines that are still being tested that contain a weakened form of a different virus that causes a common cold. These “attenuated” carrier viruses are even weaker than those that can be safely administered to infants, such as oral polio vaccines. “Inactivated” virus vaccines, such as annual flu shots, “kill” the virus completely before use. These weakened or dead viruses act as a “Trojan horse” to let the vaccine get accepted by the body, but don’t “wake up” to cause an infection.

COVID-19 vaccines, as with others, can cause temporary effects including headaches, soreness in the injected arm, chills or fever lasting from a few hours to a few days. These are signs that the vaccine is working. Taking an over-the-counter painkiller such as Tylenol, Advil or Motrin can provide relief.

A few cases of severe allergic reactions or a face-nerve condition called Bell’s palsy (not to be confused with far more serious cerebral palsy) have also been reported among hundreds of thousands of people vaccinated so far.

Several cases of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reactions have been reported among people with a history of such reactions who received COVID-19 vaccines. Anyone who carries an Epi-Pen or has experienced an allergic reaction so serious that it made them unconscious should mention this before getting injected.

The Michigan Health Lab explicitly dispels “myths and fears” that the COVID-19 vaccine can make someone infertile or impotent, harm a developing fetus in the womb, or make the immune system attack a placenta protein called syncytin-1. (The vaccine teaches the body to attack an entirely different protein.)

Similarly, there is no reason to worry, as rumored, regarding concerns that a microchip, RFID or other electronic device will be injected with the vaccine to allow for tracking or “mind control.” None would be tiny enough to fit inside the insertion needles.

As for long-term benefits or health problems, no one can be certain. As of late December 2020, no one has had the vaccine in their body for more than eight months.

New coronavirus mutations have been reported which may “or may not” be recognized by the vaccine- triggered body immune system. Mutants seen so far, however, haven’t been known to “outsmart” the COVID-19 vaccines.

People considering COVID-19 vaccinations are recommended to first discuss that decision with their doctor based upon individual health risk circumstances. Studies show that those who are older and/or have certain medical conditions including being obese, diabetic and smokers are most likely to become seriously ill if infected. Black, Native American and Latino groups also have disproportionately greater risks.

For my part, I’m well into in that endangered age group that will benefit most from that welcome shot in the arm. I’ll prudently refrain from offering any personal advice on the matter to anyone else.

Happy New Year, let it soon be COVID-free!