COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it ever since it started spreading in early 2020. And though it has been a long and unfortunate journey to get where we are today, the creation of a vaccine is sure to be a bright spot in the darkness. It symbolizes a light at the end of the dark tunnel that has been the pandemic. Vaccines have all but eradicated many terrible fatal diseases such as smallpox. Due to this, the COVID vaccine is thought to be the end of this tumultuous time, and the hope of life back to normal is in the back of everyone’s minds.
How Vaccines Work
Vaccines have been around since the 19th century, when Louis Pasteur created the first vaccine for cholera. The general premise behind vaccines is that it uses your own system of adaptive immunity to fight off potential illnesses your body could encounter. Your immune system uses specialized cells called B cells that create antibodies to complement the infectious agents, or antibodies, that are in your body, so your other immune cells can recognize the antigens and destroy them. Every antibody that your B cells create remains stored in your body so you can fight off the antibodies quickly and easily should you get infected again. By getting vaccinated, you introduce either a weakened or dead version, or a piece of the antigen that your body can create antibodies against. When your body already has those specific antibodies, if you do encounter the much more dangerous version of the real disease, your immune system can fight the disease before it can become a big threat.
There have been two COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved by the FDA and are currently being administered to US citizens: the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The two vaccines both require 2 doses, and they work by injecting you with mRNA, which is the RNA that codes for proteins within your cells. When your cells are introduced to the mRNA, they begin to create the proteins the RNA codes for, in this case, the spike proteins that surround the COVID-19. After the RNA is translated, and proteins are created By having your own cells produce the foreign protein, your B cells can learn to recognize the spike proteins and create antibodies against them. By having the pre-stored antibodies, you fight off COVID-19 before you can even become ill with it. The virus is neutralized before it has any effect on your body.
Over 11 million people have gotten the first dose of the vaccine in the US, and many more vaccines are being administered across the country. A double dose is required for the vaccines to ensure that enough antibodies are created to give people complete immunity against the virus. The CDC emphasizes, however, that the vaccine can’t actually give you COVID-19, as the virus itself isn’t actually injected through the vaccine. The vaccine will likely give people some symptoms, though, as your body develops antibodies and recognizes the foreign proteins. Symptoms include fever, headaches, fatigue, and chills, although they aren’t supposed to last long.
The vaccine is a significant factor in getting life back to normal because it allows for the development of herd immunity. Herd immunity is when the majority of the population has developed immunity which provides a form of protection for those who haven’t developed immunity to the disease. When most people are immune, the virus can’t be carried by them to infect those without immunity, which keeps the entire population safe, and deters the spread of the virus. That’s how diseases like the flu have gone from being highly contagious and lethal to a forgotten ailment of the past. Most people are hopeful that COVID-19 will soon be left in the past as well.
Bibliography
“Understanding How Vaccines Work.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Aug. 2018, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/understanding-vacc-work.html.
“Get the Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 15 Jan. 2021, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-vaccine/art-20484859.
“Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Jan. 2021, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/how-they-work.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fvaccines%2Fabout-vaccines%2Fhow-they-work.html.
“Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 Jan. 2021, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html.
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