The rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations has created a lot
of understandable questions about, well, all of it. Dr. Steven Jacobson,
medical director, and clinical pharmacist Emily Tsiao stopped by New Day
Northwest to answer as many of those questions as they could.
Q: Is the vaccine
safe?
A: All
signs point to yes.
Dr. Jacobson: “These
types of vaccine technologies have been around for many years. These cannot
give you the COVID-19 virus. They're all very effective and there's excellent
scientific evidence – they've all been tested in large studies involving
perhaps 40,000 people.”
Q: How does it work?
A: The
power of science! Two of them use an mRNA system, while the other uses a viral
vector called an adenovirus.
Dr.
Jacobson: “There's actually three vaccines currently on the market
and they're all good vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson. The
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work with what’s called a messenger RNA system. In
other words, there's a little particle that is injected into our body, our
cells take it up and they actually make a protein that mimics the COVID-19
protein, and then we make antibodies to that and so that if an actual COVID-19
virus comes around then our bodies are prepared to fight it off.
“The Johnson and Johnson vaccine
works very similarly, although using a different type of virus vector to bring
it into the body. It's a cold virus called an adenovirus which, is the common
cold that all of us have had at some point, and they use this common cold
virus, this genetic material to make these COVID-19 proteins."
Q: Why do some
vaccines need two shots, and the other only one?
A: It
buckles down to the way the scientists designed them.
Dr.
Jacobson: “[Moderna and Pfizer] were designed to work with two
doses. They found that with this particular type of vaccine that getting that
booster, they really work best that way. The Johnson and Johnson team designed
the vaccine to just be a single dose, which is nice. A couple of different
strategies, they both work well.”
Q: What about these
COVID variants I’m hearing about? Will the vaccine keep me safe from those?
A: Things look
very promising, but more study is needed.
Dr.
Jacobson: “For some of the variants, they appear to be just as
effective as against the original virus; for a couple of variants, they may be
modestly less effective but still pretty good.”
Q: What about side
effects?
A: For
the most part, they are pretty mild. Reactions can last a few hours to a couple
of days.
Dr.
Jacobson: “A common reaction is that there might be some soreness
at the vaccine site, or people might feel a little bit chilled or feverish as
part of the vaccine response. I tend to look at it as a good thing, that means
your body is kicking in and is developing a robust immune response.”
Q: Who should get the vaccine?
A: Just about every
adult, with a few exceptions.
Dr. Jacobson: “If
you have a concern, speak with your primary care physician, or speak to your
specialist and get their thoughts on whether the vaccine’s appropriate for
you.”
Q: How can I help the vaccination effort?
A: First, get one!
But there are lots of ways to pitch in.
Emily Tsiao: “I
volunteered with the Swedish Seattle University clinic last month, and I have
to say that it's just been a tremendous effort by volunteers, by organizations
within our community, to provide vaccines to as many people as possible.
There's opportunities for non-medical folks to participate and contribute to
the cause, there's a lot of opportunity for medically trained folks as well.
There are still plenty of volunteer spots open in a numerous different settings
across the Washington area.”
For more information, visit Premera.com/visitor/outbreaks.