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(Thread) Dr. Madej's assertions are unsupported by science. In short, she's wrong. About a lot of things.
Before we talk about vaccines, let's take a minute to talk about how viruses work in our bodies. Viruses are, essentially, tiny natural "bots" that attach to our cells,... https://twitter.com/rockostaco/status/1302404425198137344
Before we talk about vaccines, let's take a minute to talk about how viruses work in our bodies. Viruses are, essentially, tiny natural "bots" that attach to our cells,... https://twitter.com/rockostaco/status/1302404425198137344
enter our cells, and take over the internal micro-machinery in our cells to make more viruses that can then go on to infect other human beings. Viruses take over our cells' machinery by giving them genetic instructions in the form of pieces of RNA or DNA...
So, viruses are themselves genetic invaders. Remember that.
When we have an infection, our bodies fight it off by recognizing the abnormal molecules being made by the cells the virus has taken over, and destroying those infected cells, stopping the invasion and the infection.
When we have an infection, our bodies fight it off by recognizing the abnormal molecules being made by the cells the virus has taken over, and destroying those infected cells, stopping the invasion and the infection.
Vaccines work by stimulating one's immune system to recognize and respond to a particular invader, either a virus or bacterium, without having to go through an infection.A vaccine stimulates that recognition by presenting the immune system...
with something closely imitating the virus or bacterium. This stimulus can take many forms.
Viruses and bacteria have molecules on their surfaces that might be considered analogous to features on a face. They're distinctive to a given virus or bacterium...
Viruses and bacteria have molecules on their surfaces that might be considered analogous to features on a face. They're distinctive to a given virus or bacterium...
Our immune system can remember those molecules as characteristics of "bad guys" and then fight off the bad guys whenever they appear again.
The most commonly used and familiar vaccines have included:...
The most commonly used and familiar vaccines have included:...
1) live attenuated viruses, which use a weakened form of the virus...It's weakened enough that it can't make you sick (though folks with compromised immune systems need special consideration for this type of vaccine), but it presents a wealth of characteristics of the virus...
for your immune system to put in its memory bank and fight off an infection should you be exposed to the live virus at a future time. The commonplace measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine is of this type. Because they so closely resemble the "real" viruses,..
these vaccines confer robust long-term immunity.
Then there's 2) inactivated vaccine, which uses a "killed" form of the virus that can't infect you. The inactivated virus still gives your immune system plenty to work with, though not as much as with live attenuated virus...
Then there's 2) inactivated vaccine, which uses a "killed" form of the virus that can't infect you. The inactivated virus still gives your immune system plenty to work with, though not as much as with live attenuated virus...
so you're more likely to need "boosters" at more frequent intervals to remind your immune system that it needs to consider that virus a bad guy. The vaccines we take for seasonal influenza are of the inactivated type...
Then there are 3) subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines. These vaccines take one distinctive piece of a virus or bacterium and present that to your immune system. Because they don't contain the entirety of a virus, they can't imitate an infection....
so anyone, even if they have a compromised immune system, can take them. That's great! But, because these vaccines don't stimulate the magnitude of response of a live attenuated virus, boosters are even likelier to be needed over time. That's inconvenient, but not a big deal...
Okay, now let's talk specifically about vaccines being developed against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Operation Warp Speed is an unprecedentedly accelerated project to bring a vaccine to humanity as fast as possible, and it's amazing...
--and it's leveraging every advance that's been made in utilizing information to design and evaluate a vaccine. Artificial intelligence, utilizing "big data" and machine learning--recognizing patterns in information exponentially faster than our brains alone can do...
--has been one of the key ways in which the process has been sped. In addition, the federal government has invested in manufacturing capabilities and logistics ahead of time, so that once a vaccine has proven safe and effective, everything will be in place, saving months...
As to the candidate vaccines that are being developed, they're of several types, representing the most advanced designs that build on the knowledge of decades of research. Some candidates are variations on the "attenuated" virus theme:...
these vaccine candidates use a form of the virus that will be able to enter a very small number of our cells and begin the process of making pieces of new viruses, BUT will NOT be able to make fully-formed virus particles that can cause an infection...
However, enough pieces of the weakened, non-infectious virus will be made that our immune system will be able to recognize those pieces as alien, and generate a response and a memory to prevent infection should the actual virus ever invade our bodies...
Bear in mind that the very small number of our cells that are used by the weakened, non-infectious "attenuated" form of virus are also destroyed by our immune system as part of its response, so the only permanent change in our bodies...
is that some of our immune cells are programmed to attack the target virus. That's the same thing that happens "naturally" when we fight off an actual infection, but we don't get sick. That's terrific!
Other vaccine candidates use the recombinant subunit platform,...
Other vaccine candidates use the recombinant subunit platform,...
that takes a characteristic piece of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and presents it to our immune system in a way that makes that piece memorable, again ensuring a vigorous response should one be infected and the infected cells start making that piece of the virus. Infection thwarted!...
Finally, there's the "messenger RNA" (mRNA) platform. This is being used for vaccines being developed by Moderna and Pfizer, and the former's candidate may well be first over the finish line.
Clinical trials are done in phases, starting with very few people in Phase I,...
Clinical trials are done in phases, starting with very few people in Phase I,...
more in Phase II, and then many thousands in Phase III. At each step, careful evaluation is made for BOTH efficacy and safety: does the vaccine induce immunity, and does it do so without causing side effects that would be unacceptable?
These phases have been telescoped...
These phases have been telescoped...
in Operation Warp Speed, with the utmost care in using the information technology noted above to ensure that we know more, and faster, about safety and efficacy than ever before in a vaccine-development process.
The mRNA platform is getting a lot of attention and concern...
The mRNA platform is getting a lot of attention and concern...
because it would be entirely new in widespread application. This platform does the same thing as all other vaccines: it allows our immune system to recognize and respond to a real-life virus before it can make us sick.
See next thread for more!
See next thread for more!
