COVID Chronicles: Exposing Vaccine Truth (The Vaccine Wars Part II)
We continue our COVID Chronicles series. In this episode, Vince shatters the myths and debunks the fears about the most common SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) vaccines available.
One of the major “anti-vaxxer” arguments is that the vaccine makers aren’t publishing a list of the ingredients that make up the vaccine itself, and thus they can’t be trusted. The quick answer to that fallacy is just to point a finger at these people and call them stupid because they clearly haven’t done a basic Internet search.
Armchair Doctors
But there are a great number of people in the US no doubt that never bothered to check the contents; not out of some “anti-vax” malice, but just because it never occurred to them to do it. All the same, many of these people will listen to the chatter on the news, and read things on social media that “seem” genuine. This kind of back-and-forth chatter and armchair-doctor viewpoints don’t often dispense truth, but serve to confuse people all the more about what these vaccines are and what they’re not.
So as I said last time, since no one in the current Federal administration or national healthcare policy arena seems to give a hoot about actually educating people on this topic, and even mainstream social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, seem more interested in flagging content whenever it detects the word “COVID” and/or (in YouTube’s case at least) outright bans certain content about the virus, vaccines, and the pandemic in general, I don’t mind taking a stab at educating people as simply as I can about the vaccines.
Let’s Talk Vaccines
First, let’s differentiate between the three major vaccines available in the US, and a brief explanation of what they are and how they work – don’t worry, I’ll try to avoid all the technical crap.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have both developed vaccines based on the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology.
How mRNA Vaccines Actually Work
First identified in the late 1990’s, it soon became clear that this technology could be used as a vaccine technology, particularly where other methods (live attenuated virus for example) were either not effective or not be appropriate. In general, this technology uses a segment of the spike protein of the target virus (in this case SARS-CoV-2) and encapsulates it in a lipid “shell” so that it can survive the “liquid” that makes up the vaccine itself, as well as entry into the body.
The “spike protein” is the virus’ main protein that seeks out to attach itself to our cells, and the only one that theoretically cannot change or mutate lest the virus cease to become the same virus; in other words, if the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein changed, it technically would cease to be able to be called SARS-CoV-2.
Once inside the body, the lipid “shell” dissolves, exposing the prime RNA segment to the muscle cells around the injection site. This allows them to manufacture the harmless segment of that spike protein, (after which the body breaks down the mRNA segment and removes it).
The involved muscle cells then “display” the protein, which enables our immune system to recognize it as foreign and start using the system’s processes to create antibodies specific to the virus, as well as creating a “memory” of that RNA segment so that the immune system will recognize it if the body comes into contact with SARS-CoV-2, thus being able to use the processes to fight off or “kill” the virus before it can cause actual disease (known as COVID-19).
Using mRNA Technology in Vaccines
Vaccines using the mRNA technology generally will require two vaccinations spaced between several weeks to several months apart, to elicit the best response in the immune system, which is commonly considered to be an efficacy rating above 90%. This technology has been intensely studied and proof-of-concept vaccines have already been created; and mRNA vaccines for rabies, Zika virus, and Cytomegalovirus already in the pipeline.
The mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines
The two available mRNA vaccines are Moderna’s SpikeVax and Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty. The full ingredient list of each of the two mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were made public by each manufacturer, and the CDC has included them on their website for ease of finding them on an Internet search. I have personally validated that the ingredient lists from the manufacturers themselves are exactly the same as are posted on the CDC website. I encourage everyone to either click the available links above, or search yourself on the CDC website.
Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech)
The Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2), sold under the brand name Comirnaty, was developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech. BioNTech collaborated with Pfizer to carry out clinical trials, logistics, and manufacturing.
Clinical trials began in April 2020. By November 2020, the vaccine entered phase III clinical trials. Study data showed a potential efficacy of 91.3% in preventing symptomatic infection within seven days of a second dose and no serious safety concerns. Most side effects are mild to moderate in severity and are gone within a few days. The most common include mild to moderate injection site pain, fatigue, or headache. Reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, are very rare and no long-term complications have been reported.
Comirnaty was the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to be authorized by the FDA for emergency use authorization.
Spikevax (Moderna)
The Moderna vaccine (mRNA-1273), sold under the brand name Spikevax, was developed by Moderna.
Clinical trials began in March 2020, with the vaccine entering phase III trials several months later. A review of study data published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February 2021 indicated a 94% efficacy of the vaccine in preventing COVID19 infection. Side effects included pain at the injection site, fatigue, muscle pain, and headache.
Spikevax was authorized by the FDA for emergency use authorization in December 2020.
The Viral Vector Vaccine
Jcovden (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen)
The Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, sold under the brand name Jcovden, is based on the “viral vector” technology of modifying human adenovirus with the gene for creating the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
This method isn’t as effective, however, because the method involves modifying an existing virus known to the human body, with the spike protein for a virus not previously known, which creates an incomplete match as far as the immune system is concerned, and particularly in the case of this vaccine, creates a much lower-than desired efficacy rating between 52-68%, based on both information published by the vaccine maker and independent studies.
One of the largest problems with Jcovden became the seemingly rare – but serious – occurrences of blood clots after receiving the Jcovden vaccine. Subsequently, rare but serious occurrences of Guillain–Barré syndrome were noted to be at much higher risk with the Jcovden vaccine.
It’s for these reasons, beyond the comparatively poor effectiveness of Jcovden, that I’ve consistently recommended that people avoid the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, and instead receive either Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines in order to provide better immune response and protection against COVID-19 disease without the risk profile associated with Jcovden.
How Vaccines Work in the Body
Put simply, vaccines work by introducing a reasonable facsimile of a pathogen (or a muted form of a pathogen) into our bodies so that our immune systems can do its primary job. That job is to recognize something as foreign to the body, and produce antibodies to fight and kill the foreign “invader.”
In medicine, we know from over a century of testing and real-world experience that when we do this, our immune system becomes stronger because it has information on pathogens to which we’ve previously been unexposed, and can more easily fight them off if we really get exposed to the real thing.
Recall the liberal whines about how Columbus was a devil because he invaded America (which actually isn’t correct anyway) and the subsequent colonists brought disease to America and killed off the native population? The real reason why this happened isn’t as sinister as the Biden-tool-sucking liberals want everyone to believe.
The reason this happened long ago, was primarily out of ignorance. Medicine hadn’t advanced as far as it is now, and the concept of people from the “old world” bringing diseases to the “new world” was very likely not even considered. Thus, it was fate that caused Native Americans – who weren’t previously exposed to some “old world” diseases – to easily succumb to them until their populations became more exposed and some were more easily able to fight off the diseases themselves.
Realistic Side Effects
Obviously there’s a risk to everything humans do, and vaccines are no different. Some are old enough to recall when we were lined up in early school years on a Friday afternoon, and received some vaccines with one of those pneumatic-type guns, after which school was dismissed for the weekend. They did it this way for a very important reason: they knew we’d all likely have a degree of reaction to the multiple vaccines and we could sleep it off over the weekend.
Activating the immune system to create antibodies takes energy. The body needs to expend a certain amount of energy to produce antibodies in response to a vaccination, and this is why so many people have the mild reactions to any vaccine they receive (not just the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines), which include fatigue, injection site pain, headaches, etc. Such reactions are common, but are no valid reason to avoid receiving a vaccine.
Fake Side Effects
While some people love to refuse vaccines because they claim “I got the flu from a flu shot”, let’s make one thing perfectly clear from a medical standpoint.
It’s impossible to actually get the disease from a vaccine itself. Viral vector vaccines use modified and inactivated (called “replication-incompetent”) segments of the target virus. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines don’t use pure virus at all, but only enough of a segment of the spike protein to make the body’s immune system recognize the virus we want it to make antibodies against. Thus, it’s literally impossible for the body to magically turn a segment of a protein into an entire virus.
Guaranteed Not Foolproof
Now, let’s be clear about one thing:
There is NOT one single vaccine out there for anything, that is 100% foolproof or that can guarantee that you’ll never get the disease if you get the vaccine.
This is primarily because some people have a more robust and faster-acting immune system than others, and as we age, the process slows a bit as well. Thus, some people may still contract COVID-19 after receiving vaccinations, but largely the symptoms would be much milder than someone who has no native protection. I’ve actually seen this occur several times in my medical practice. This fact is also not a valid reason to avoid receiving a vaccine.
Immunization Schedule
The SARS-CoV-2 vaccines can also be considered as part of a larger preventative care vaccination program, which begins at birth, and carries on through late old age. Search the CDC website for immunization schedules, and you’ll see what I mean.
The so-called “childhood immunizations” are actually mandated, and since these began to become mandated around the middle of the last century, we’ve seen the eradication of many of the formerly dread diseases, including polio. Thus, it can be said that a small minority of people in the US today have not received the compulsory childhood immunizations, previously for a very few valid medical reasons, or due to certain religious exemptions.
Hypocrites?
I would however, be willing to bet that the majority of people who are in the SARS-CoV-2 “anti-vaxxer” camp, have received all their required childhood immunizations, and aren’t saying a word about objecting to having received them all when they were children. Yet they’ll act like children now with ridiculous objections to the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
In the interest of public health, the mass vaccination of people in the US with either mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is a good thing. It should not be a mandatory “do it or else” threat, but by the same token, it should not be done out of ignorance of what people are being vaccinated with. Also, while exemptions should be made on a case-by-case basis, they certainly do not include any of the “conspiracy theory” type excuses that have been widely circulated.
I want to touch on those claims next time.
Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I own a small amount of Pfizer, Inc. shares individually, and own a small amount of shares in a mutual fund that holds Pfizer Inc. These holdings took place prior to the COVID pandemic. I do not own any shares of ModernaTx, Inc. I received the Moderna vaccines in January/February 2021.
Author’s note: I’m updating this section with information that as of June 2023, the FDA revoked Jcovden’s authorization for use in the US.
