Cass Regional Medical Center | Wellness Matters | Spring 2021

8 cassregional.org | 816-380-3474 By Kevin Latinis, MD, PhD It is time to look forward with optimism in 2021. The Chiefs made it back to the Super Bowl, and we have developed our most effective weapon yet to put an end to the pandemic: the COVID-19 vaccine . The first of several vaccines against COVID-19 have been developed, studied, and rigorously analyzed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Union. They were found to be highly effective and very safe. Q Do the vaccines work? Two vaccines, one developed by Pfizer and the other by Moderna, received emergency use authorization by FDA in December. Within a few days, they were being administered around the country. I got my first dose on Dec. 19 and my second dose on Jan. 9. Because I was curious and anxious to see how effective it was, I had my antibody levels checked one week after my second dose and found that my immune system was active and ready to fight the virus. It provided a huge sense of relief to know that I was more protected at work. Q Are the vaccines safe? The technology that has led to these vaccines is not too different than what was used to develop vaccines we have used for years. Most vaccines are made by using a small amount of the virus’s genetic material (DNA or RNA) and putting this into cells that are grown in a lab. These cells produce a protein from the virus (but not the whole virus) that our immune system sees as a foreign invader. The protein is purified (a very time-consuming process) and put in shots, and then our immune system goes to work. With the new COVID-19 vaccines, the code for one of the viral proteins (but not the whole virus) is put into the genetic material and that is given as a shot. When that genetic material gets into a muscle cell, it then produces the same viral protein that activates the immune system. This saves a time-consuming step and makes it much easier to make large quantities of the vaccine faster. It is very safe. The genetic material and viral protein are very short-lived and do not make any changes to our own DNA. Q Were they rushed? The studies for these vaccines went very fast for two reasons. Our government and many others gave large amounts of money to companies to recruit large numbers of patients into the clinical trials. Additionally, the COVID-19 virus was so prevalent around the world that it did not take long for many of these participants to get exposed to the virus to see if they were protected. Because of these two factors, the studies were completed very quickly. Q What about side effects? I and many of my colleagues have had some side effects with the vaccine, particularly after the second dose. However, while common, the reaction is relatively mild—and actually is a really good sign that the immune system has been activated to fight the virus. Almost all serious side effects are rare and occur right after the shots. That is why most places where vaccines are given will observe people for 15 minutes after each shot. Now that tens of millions of shots have been given around the world, there have been a few bad side effects, including a few serious reactions and deaths. This happens with all vaccines when given to millions of people. However, the severe effects and risk of death from the COVID-19 infection are greater than 1 in 100. The odds are definitely in favor of getting vaccinated. “The bottom line is that it is much safer to get the vaccine than the infection.” —Kevin Latinis, MD, PhD Why you should get the COVID-19 vaccine