Better late than never, am I right?
If you've been anywhere- the grocery store, the pharmacy, the Internet- really since February of 2021, you've heard about "the vaccines"- that is, the vaccines that have been developed to protect people around the world from COVID-19. So I'm pretty late on the uptake here, writing this post in August, however, I do have to admit that I've enjoyed getting to take the time to sort of watch the whole vaccine rollout unfold, both in the USA and around the world.
This has been so fun to watch- as a scientist I've enjoyed getting to witness things that I know were months in the making in research labs actually get used quickly by being released to the public (thats basically any application scientists' dream right there- getting to see your work change the world around you, pretty much immediately).
It's also been interesting because I've enjoyed watching the responses to the vaccines- from professors, my parents, friends, pretty much everyone I knew had opinions or questions or both, which I think is accurate for most of the people in the country too. And actually, it was all the responses to the vaccines that made me excited about writing this article.
Rather than create yet another "let's explain the vaccine" post when there were more online than you could count, I thought it might be more productive to do a little myth-busting now that everyone pretty much has the choice to get the vaccine or not to. So, let's get right to it.
First and foremost I want to say- I'm not here to diss on anyone's personal choice to get vaccinated or not vaccinated. Just like with ANY vaccine, there are a variety of reactions that people with pre-existing conditions may experience that limit them to maybe only getting one dose, or only one type of vaccine, or prohibit them from getting vaccinated at all- and that's okay. Also, if you just don't want to get it, or you don't feel comfortable getting it, or if needles just really freak you out- I get it, that's totally fine. I'm not here to change anyone's mind- I'm just here to stop mass media fear-mongering and do as much fact-reporting as I possibly can! :)
Okay, now then- the first interesting thing I wanted to address about this vaccine is the phrase "we don't even know what's in it". Luckily, since the dawn of COVID-19 vaccines, the amount that I've read this phrase has decreased quite a lot, but just in case anyone is still skeptical about what exactly goes into a COVID-19 vaccine: it's basically a bubble made out of lipids (or fats) that carries mRNA. The "m" stands for "messenger", because this RNA is a molecule that sends a message to our cells. Basically, this mRNA goes into our cells and tells them to start producing this protein, the most problematic protein- the spike protein. This is the one that exists on the surface of COVID-19 viruses and allows them to get into our cells so easily and make us sick. The cool thing about targeting this protein for the vaccine is that a virus really HAS to have this protein in order to make us sick- so without a doubt, this vaccine will catch any actively infectious COVID-19 viruses before they can make us feel super awful. Neat stuff.
This leads me to my next myth-busting venture- "RNA is unnatural, it's a synthetic molecule". RNA is something that our bodies produce every waking moment of our lives- RNA is the "in-between" step between DNA and proteins. Our DNA gets transcribed into RNA (mRNA if we're talking about making proteins, specifically) and then that RNA gets translated into proteins. RNA is definitely something that all living organisms produce, which is part of why researchers figured it was a safe bet to use in a vaccine- since it's something we make on our own, our bodies were less likely to have strong or harsh responses to the vaccines.
Moving on- "I don't want the vaccine lingering around in my body". Another elegant feat of biological engineering busts this myth- the vaccine is and mRNA molecule, which we've already discussed is something that our bodies make. Now- mRNA is the thing that comes from DNA, and gets translated into proteins. Once that protein gets made, our cells really don't have any use for that mRNA again, so it gets degraded extremely quickly (in fact, mRNA often starts getting broken down WHILE our cells are still using it, that's how serious our cells are about not keeping anything around that they don't absolutely need!). The same thing happens with the mRNA in the vaccine- once it enters our cells, it immediately starts to break down, which is good because it means there is virtually no trace of the vaccine in our body once this degradation process is over (aside from our continued immunity to the virus, of course!). This was something researchers also took into consideration when they designed the vaccines that made mRNA such an excellent candidate to confer immunity to us.
Speaking of the researchers taking things into account, it's pretty impressive to think about the shear amount of variables that were taken into consideration during the vaccines' development. This brings me to the next myth- "there wasn't enough time spent on the vaccine", or even just the idea that mRNA vaccines are this brand new thing that popped up and the world jumped on board for within the last year. Research has been going on in the field of mRNA vaccines since the 1980s, specifically by a woman named Dr. Katalin Karikó. Dr. Karikó had dealt with rejection of the idea that mRNA vaccines would be effective or important for many years- but lucky for all of us, she was persistent and continued the research that ensured that the mRNA we use for COVID-19 is safe for people, well-understood in it's role in the body, and certainly not a new idea.
"It changes your DNA"- another myth that can actually just be busted with basic biology. mRNA doesn't occur in your body naturally without DNA. DNA is read by a protein that creates mRNA based on the DNA sequence. So, since DNA is required to make mRNA, it would make things extremely complicated for our cells if suddenly that mRNA could change the template that was used to make it. Right? You would never be able to make the same mRNA twice, therefore you could never make the same protein twice! This would cause a slew of problems for our cells, like not having enough proteins to digest our food, or undergo respiration, for example. Long story short- our cells are far too efficient to allow mRNA to alter our DNA. Plus- anything that tries to alter our DNA has to be pretty tough. DNA gets subjected to a lot of nasty stuff during our day-to-day lives (the UV rays from the sun alone are pretty dangerous to our DNA sequences), so we have a lot of protective measures in place to keep our DNA intact and safe, even from things that DO try to change it's sequences.
Last one today- "If other people get vaccinated, I really don't need to". I see the logic here- if other people aren't getting sick, it's not spreading, it essentially disappears. Fair enough, and in a perfect world that's absolutely fair. However, sadly we live in an imperfect world, and instead what ends up happening is- the vaccinated people may still get a little sick. However, their bodies are prepared to fight the virus off quickly enough that it doesn't spend a lot of time in their bodies. Which is great, that's what we want. Now- that quick response doesn't make it less likely that they give the virus to someone else, they can still spread it as long as it is present in their bodies. This becomes an issue when they spread it to someone without the vaccine. Aside from the fact that the person who is not vaccinated may get very sick and might even land in the hospital, the virus lingers around in their body longer while their immune system tries to learn how to fight off the infection. During this time, the virus can mutate many, many, many times- and this is where new strains come from. Enough mutations, especially ones that makes the virus better at replicating or more infectious, can create strains of the virus that are more deadly for the entire population. So really, the more vaccinated people there are, the less of a chance the virus has of finding a host that will allow it to mutate into a new strain.
Overall- I hope that this all made sense and that maybe it helped soothe some worries for folks on the fence about the vaccine. I'm happy to answer questions in the comments section of this post- if you can think of more myths, or you have questions about facts about COVID-19 vaccines, let's talk about it!