COVID-19 vaccines: 4 things to know based on studies and observations

Following Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine as quickly as possible, two coronavirus vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.

The prioritization of who gets the vaccines first differs from state to state. Currently, vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna have been approved by the FDA, while others, including a vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, still await such approval.

The coronavirus vaccines have demonstrated high effectiveness rates. But they do not come without side effects.

The following highlight four things to know about the coronavirus vaccines and other treatments.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which first became available last month, have much in common.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled information about the two vaccines, both of which require the administration of two shots. However, the time to wait between receiving the two shots differs depending on the vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine shots take place 21 days apart, while the Moderna vaccine shots take place 28 days apart.

Additionally, both vaccines come with side effects of pain, swelling and redness in the arm in which the shot was given.

Those who take either vaccine can also experience chills, tiredness and headaches.

"These side effects usually start within a day or two of getting the vaccine," the CDC notes. "They might feel like flu symptoms and might even affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days."

Both vaccines have not been approved for small children. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for those aged 16 years old and older. The Moderna vaccine is recommended for adults 18 years old and older.

Both vaccines are not recommended for those who have had immediate allergic reactions to any of the vaccines' ingredients. Those who have immediate allergic reactions to the first dose of the vaccine should not receive the second dose.

The CDC defines allergic reactions as developing symptoms such as hives, swelling or wheezing within four hours after taking the vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine has a 95% effectiveness rate among those who received two coronavirus shots and had not been exposed to the virus before.

Meanwhile, the Moderna vaccine has a 94.1% effectiveness rate in people who received the coronavirus vaccine and "had no evidence of being previously infected."

While CDC data shows that more than 44 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been distributed across the United States as of Wednesday morning, only about half of those doses — 23 million — have been administered thus far.

More than 13 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered nationwide as of Wednesday compared to approximately 10 million doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Slightly more than 19 million Americans have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while over 3.3 million have received both doses.

The CDC reports that of the more than 4 million first doses of the Moderna vaccine distributed between Dec. 14 and Jan. 10, adverse events were reported in 1,266 cases or 0.03%.

The CDC notes that 108 of those cases were "identified for further review as possible cases of severe allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis" — a "life-threatening allergic reaction that occurs rarely after vaccination."

Nine of the 10 cases determined to be anaphylaxis were in individuals with documented histories of allergies or allergic reactions. Eight persons were determined to have recovered, but the conditions of the other two were not specified.

Following the distribution of nearly 1.9 million first doses of the Pfizer vaccine between Dec. 14 and Dec. 23, adverse events were reported in 4,393 cases, or 0.2%. The data indicates that 175 of those cases were identified for further review, with 21 determined to be anaphylaxis. All those with follow-up information available had recovered or been discharged.

In California, a sheriff's office announced this week that a person who received a COVID-19 vaccine died hours after receiving the vaccine. Officials say that several agencies are investigating the cause of death, according to local news reports.

"There are multiple local, state, and federal agencies actively investigating this case; any reports surrounding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation," the sheriff's office said.

Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson interviewed Dr. John Dye, the chief of viral immunology at Fort Detrick, Maryland, the headquarters for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, for her syndicated program "Full Measure."

When Attkisson asked Dye to confirm that "vaccines are proven to last a period of a few months," he answered in the affirmative.

"Not every human being is the same," Dye said. "Some people may need a booster shot after six months, whereas other people, depending on their immunity, may not need it for a year or two."

Dye also weighed in on the "different variants of the virus," rejecting the notion that newly discovered variants of the coronavirus should be classified as "strains."

"There has to be a certain amount of genetic diversity between one isolate and another isolate to say these are distinct 'strains' of a virus," he detailed. "The number of changes that is occurring between person x and person y and person z and person xx is not different enough to actually classify these things as different strains."

"That's a good thing," Dye maintained. "When you talk about different strains, you have a better chance of having a ... vaccine or treatment not work because it's more divergent. ... If we narrow our window and this is what we have — a more narrow window — we have a more likely chance of being able to protect against this particular isolate, this particular variant and the other variants that come out."

Attkisson asked if he was suggesting that it is "not necessarily more alarming that we're seeing this United Kingdom variant identified in the United States."

In another portion of the interview that aired Monday, Attkisson asked Dye to discuss "some promising therapies that are now being used" to treat coronavirus.

Dye spoke favorably of steroid treatments, claiming that they "seem to have great effects."

According to Dye, the treatments "are basically amping up your immune system to be able to control the virus better."

Last October, the FDA gave approval for the use of the drug remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older and weighing at least 88 pounds to treat COVID-19 requiring hospitalization.

According to Kaiser Health News, doctors prescribe remdesivir to about half of COVID patients in U.S. hospitals because there are no other FDA-approved treatment options.

Dye also mentioned the use of convalescent plasma — "where you take product from a person who has survived ... the infection" and has antibodies in their blood and then uses it as a treatment for someone who is infected with the virus.

There are also several clinical trials studying other potential treatments. Last October, the World Health Organization's Solidarity Trial published interim results that found four different treatments (remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon) "had little or no effect on overall mortality, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay in hospitalized patients."

"So far, only corticosteroids have been proven effective against severe and critical COVID-19," WHO stated in an online update.

Dr. Pierre Kory, an associate professor of medicine at St. Luke's Aurora Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, appeared before a U.S. Senate committee in December to push Ivermectin as a treatment for coronavirus.

Ivermectin is approved in the U.S. in tablet form to treat parasitic worms and as a topical solution to treat external parasites for animals. However, it has not been approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in humans by the FDA or the National Institutes of Health.

"There is a drug that is proving to be of miraculous impact," Kory argued. "That is a scientific recommendation based on mountains of data that has emerged in the last three months."

"It basically obliterates transmission of this virus," he added. "We have evidence that Ivermectin is effective not only ... in the prevention. If you take it, you will not get sick."

Kory stated that the drug is "proving to be an immensely powerful, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory agent."

As he concluded his testimony, Kory asked the NIH to "review the data that we have compiled of all the emerging data" and implement Ivermectin as a treatment for coronavirus.

He expressed disappointment that the NIH, the FDA and the CDC for failing to set up a task force to "review repurposed drugs" as coronavirus treatments, instead opting to go with "novel and/or expensive, pharmaceutically-engineered drugs."

Last April, the FDA sent a letter to stakeholders stressing that the drug should not be used to treat COVID-19 in humans, stating that "additional testing is needed to determine whether ivermectin might be safe or effective to prevent or treat coronavirus or COVID-19."

Thanks for providing this. Supplemental:

Questions:

Will the covoid-19 vaccine keep me from being infected?

Most vaccines don't fully protect against infection, even if they can block symptoms from appearing. As a result, vaccinated people can unknowingly carry and spread pathogens. Occasionally, they can even start epidemics.... There are two main types of immunity you can achieve with vaccines. One is so-called "effective" immunity, which can prevent a pathogen from causing serious disease, but can't stop it from entering the body or making more copies of itself. The other is "sterilising immunity", which can thwart infections entirely, and even prevent asymptomatic cases. The latter is the aspiration of all vaccine research, but surprisingly rarely achieved...

Take meningitis as an example [no, please don't!]... In one study of university students in the United Kingdom, the vaccine had no effect on the proportion of people harbouring the pathogen four weeks later.

What type [effective or sterilising] of immunity do the Covid-19 vaccines provide? "In a nutshell we don't know, because they’re too new," says Neal [ professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Nottingham.] - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210203-why-vaccinated-people-may-still-be-able-to-spread-covid-19

Yes, you can still get infected with Covid-19 after being vaccinated. On December 18, a San Diego emergency room nurse was given a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. A week later, he tested positive for the virus, CNN affiliate KGTV reported. Stories like this will become more common as millions of Americans are administered the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines over the coming months. Over time, many who are vaccinated will still get infected with the novel coronavirus. During trials, the vaccines were shown to be about 95% effective — which means some vaccinated people were still infected. - https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/health/covid-vaccinated-infected-wellness/index.html

Is Covid-19 vaccine effective for everyone?

The "Covid-19 vaccines already in circulation are about 95 per cent effective, [but] the researchers are concerned that psychological and behavioural factors due to Covid-19 can lengthen the amount of time it takes for people to develop immunity. They can also shorten the duration of that immunity." The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a "mental health crisis by making people deal with isolation, economic stressors and uncertainty about the future." - https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/lifestyle/health-fitness/why-covid-19-vaccines-save-everyone-3269712

If I receive covoid-19 vaccine can I still be contagious and still need to wear a mask most everyplace I go and maintain social distancing?

Experts say people can still spread and even develop COVID-19 after getting a vaccine...Experts advise people who get vaccinated to continue wearing a mask, washing their hands, and maintaining proper physical distancing. - https://www.healthline.com/health-news/you-can-still-spread-develop-covid-19-after-getting-a-vaccine-what-to-know

We will still need to wear masks or face coverings and maintain social distancing for the foreseeable future. We can stop these measures when we achieve some level of herd immunity. That's going to take at least 70% of the population to be immune. Right now, less than 10% of people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19. -https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/how-covid-19-vaccines-work.html

Is getting Covid-19 vaccine safe and advised for everyone?

The CDC advises that people who’ve had a severe allergic reaction to any of the ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine to not get inoculated. - https://www.healthline.com/health-news/who-can-and-cant-safely-get-the-covid-19-vaccine#People-with-allergies Of the more than 4 million first doses of the Moderna vaccine distributed between Dec. 14 and Jan. 10, adverse events were reported in 1,266 cases or 0.03%. Of nearly 1.9 million first doses of the Pfizer vaccine between Dec. 14 and Dec. 23, adverse events were reported in 4,393 cases, or 0.2%. - CDC

How long will Covid-19 vaccine be effective?

It “is very likely that for [the] COVID-19 vaccine, given that the length of immunity the vaccine generates is limited, we may have to be vaccinated annually,” Chunhuei Chi, MPH, director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences, tells Verywell. - https://www.verywellhealth.com/length-of-covid-19-vaccine-immunity-5094857

Is the COVID-19 vaccine going to alter my DNA?

No. The coronavirus vaccine includes a portion of messenger RNA. It doesn't alter our DNA, and it doesn't stay with us or get transcribed forever. The vaccine has a limited life within us and then it's degraded. - https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/how-covid-19-vaccines-work.html

Do those who have recovered from Covid-19 need the vaccine?

CDC: Yes. Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, vaccine should be offered to you regardless of whether you already had COVID-19 infection. - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html

No/yes/no: Dr Debprasad Chattopadhyay, virologist and director, ICMR-NITM, said scientifically, those who have recovered from Covid do not need to be vaccinated since they have already developed antibodies to fight the disease. "In bald terms, vaccinating means administering the virus or parts of the virus to boost immunity," he said. "Those who have recovered are already immune. Scientifically speaking, vaccination is not necessary for them." However, Dr Ramesh, an epidemiologist, said since there have been examples of reinfection, a vaccine is a must for all, while Dr Giridhara Babu, epidemiologist and member of the state advisory committee, said it is premature to talk about the issue now.

Dr Srinivas Kakkilaya, general physician who has also co-authored a book on Covid-19, differed with Babu..... "A study on the response of memory T cells to the virus showed a robust response from the T cells. This means even though antibodies do not last long, the T cell will help generate antibodies to stop the virus from binding to the cell." He said there is "absolutely no necessity" to vaccinate people who have recovered and the government will "save a lot". "Many would not need the vaccine at all," he said. - https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnostics/do-those-who-have-recovered-from-covid-19-need-the-vaccine/78882974

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.