Should I Take the Current COVID-19 Vaccine? How Does It Work?
If you have had COVID-19 are you now immune from again having COVID-19? Or, if you have taken the COVID-19 vaccine, are you now totally protected from catching the disease?” No and no. If you have had COVID-19 and survived, you are more likely not to get COVID-19 again. However, the CDC has stated to date 90 days is probably the minimum time prior to someone again being subject to COVID-19 after exposure.
If you have taken the COVID-19 vaccine, the current vaccines for the original virus strain are estimated at up to 94% effective in preventing COVID-19. That’s, if it does not mutate into a different virus strain than the one protected against in the original vaccine. A European mutation is already here from which our protection with the original vaccine is unknown. About 45,000 folks were in the original test group for one of the two approved vaccines, or .012% of the population of just the U.S. Positive but still minimal.
Ask yourself, if the vaccine is 94% effective, why are we locking down our commerce, mandated to wear a mask and use dictated spacing while urged to stay home with quarantine for weeks if exposed? The flu vaccine on average is 40 to 60% effective with usually four different virus strains in the shot. Both influenza and COVID-19 viruses are RNA corona viruses that mutate often and have for both to date.
Is the COVID-19 vaccine recommended? Either of the two now CDC approved are suggested, recognizing there may be side effects. Also, the time period in which immune system antibodies created by the vaccines against the COVID-19 virus strain are protective is not definitively known due to insufficient usage to date over a period of time deemed conclusive, but we know different periods for different people.
The point is at this time the potential benefits of taking the vaccine exceed potential risks in the opinion of this writer and the opinion of many professionals in immunology. The decision to take or not take a vaccine is a personal one to be made in conjunction with your professional healthcare provider. Should you do more? Yes. Let’s review. What is a vaccine? What is immunocompromised?
A vaccine is, “a biological preparation, that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent or agents that resembles a disease-causing microorganism (pathogen) and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the pathogen microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins.” What happens to provide protection when you take a vaccine shot?
The vaccine strain, or biological preparation, contains the antigen or name-tag of the pathogen to be blocked and/or prevented. In addition to including a small portion of the pathogen, the vaccine generally contains an aluminum salt such as aluminum hydroxide that attracts antigen presenting immune cells that internalize the specific vaccine content in the body for presentation to the white immune cells.
The white immune cells recognize the pathogen and alert the B immune cells that an antibody or antibodies should be produced to help the body block the pathogen from successfully attacking and making the body sick. How long do antibodies protect us against a specific virus strain? A protection period varies by individual recipient and we just don’t know at this time the life of protection.
What we do know is your immune response and cells must be normal and not immunocompromised or immune deficient to successfully make adequate antibodies for a specific virus strain. A vaccine for a specific virus strain may not work for a mutated or changed virus strain. The flu shot contents changing annually is an example. What is immunocompromised? Are you?
Being immunocompromised is to have a weakened, below normal immune system caused by a disease (comorbidities), medications, stress, diet, or just by aging. To be immunocompromised means you are more likely to get an infection and more likely to have a severe illness such as COVID-19 than someone who has a healthy and normalized immune system.
Odds are high that you are now immunocompromised. Eat a healthy diet absent of sugar, moderately exercise, sleep adequately, have faith and try to minimize stress. Supplement with Vitamin D, Zinc, Elderberry extract, Beta 1,3/1,6 glucan and take a good multiple vitamin daily. Keep up the mandated external suggestions. Frankly speaking, while a frightening time, we can minimize our exposure and risk. Don’t wait. Do it now.