Chloe Reid
Reporter
With expanding numbers of the COVID-19 vaccine being administered nationwide, it’s common to have heard several stories about the reliability and functionality of the vaccine from different perspectives. From the start of the vaccine’s release, rumors have flown around regarding the vaccine’s ingredients, as well as the background intentions of administering it.
Between the vaccine itself carrying a chip to be implanted into recipients, to the vaccine potentially being a disguised way to infect more people, there is a variety of misinformation that has the potential to be rapidly spread around. However, most of the rumors surrounding the vaccine and its ingredients are completely false. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are three types of the COVID-19 vaccine currently being authorized and administered. The mRNA vaccine, the protein subunit vaccine and the vector vaccine. The well known Pfizer and Moderna vaccines fall under the “mRNA” category, and the up and coming Johnson & Johnson vaccine falls under the “vector”. While all types of vaccines cater to serve the same purpose, to reduce and prevent the spread of the virus, each vaccine comes with different characteristics. The mRNA vaccines “contain material from the virus that causes COVID-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus” (CDC).
After our cells make copies of this protein, the genetic material from the vaccine is destroyed. The protein acts as a foreign substance to our bodies, which allows our bodies to build lymphocytes that will remember how to fight the virus if we happen to be infected again in the future. Protein subunit vaccines act very similarly to the mRNA. However, according to the CDC, “Protein subunit vaccines include only proteins of the virus, rather than an entire germ”.
Once again, after our bodies receive this protein, the body recognizes it as a foreign substance and learns how to fight against it to prevent any future infections from happening. Vector vaccines are the last type, and these vaccines act in a method slightly different from the past two. Vector vaccines, rather than including a protein from COVID-19, or a slight amount of the virus itself, “contain a modified version of a different virus than the one that causes COVID-19”(CDC). Inside the shell of the modified virus, there is material from the virus that causes COVID-19,” said the CDC. The genetic material within instructs the cells to make a protein that is unique to the virus that causes COVID-19. With these instructions, our cells can make copies of the protein. Similar to the mRNA vaccine, these copies of proteins prompt our bodies to create T and B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight the virus if we’re infected in the future.
One thing that is also unknown to several Americans is the number of doses needed for a COVID-19 vaccine. For the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, two doses of the vaccine are required for you to be considered as fully vaccinated. If you acquire the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, only one shot is required. The CDC emphasizes the importance of receiving both doses of the vaccine if you are administered the Pfizer or Moderna. The effects of the shot can take two weeks to fully protect. If you still need a second vaccine, or if it hasn’t been two weeks since your vaccination, the CDC recommends continuing in prevention steps up until two weeks after your final shot. For best COVID-19 prevention, you should still take precautionary steps when out in public or in a household with someone who is at higher risk. The COVID-19 vaccine is not a guaranteed elimination of all cases, but it is a better chance of long-term protection. Continuing to follow the CDC’s recommendations for protecting yourself and others will offer the best total protection against the virus. As for the bottom line, even though we’re still in the midst of the COVID-19 vaccine being discovered, it’s an added layer of protection and an additional step that can be taken that can potentially save the lives of others who may have a higher chance of contracting life-threatening symptoms due to the virus. To learn additional preventative measures, and the best ways to keep yourself and those surrounding you safe, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.
