Stop letting the news and the left define the language. When you're having a discussion and someone says "vaccine", stop them and correct them.
We've had flu shots before. This isn't anything close.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html
A vaccine is something that teaches your immune system to recognize a virus. This can be done via a live attenuated virus, dead virus, viral proteins, or as in the case of Covid, MRNA. This is essentially the 2nd step in the process of copying DNA, in which case messenger RNA as transcribed from DNA is fed into cellular machinery to make proteins. This basically uses mrna that is fed into your own cellular machinery to make a specific protein that your immune system will recognize and build antibodies against.
Look, we can rightfully question the safety and efficacy of the covid vaccine. IMO, there isn't enough long term data to confidently say that it is safe. Short term, yes. Long term, unknown. But we need to stop with this nonsense that this is gene therapy, genetic manipulation, etc. It is not, and spreading misinformation doesn't help anybody. This is, in simple terms, using your own cells to manufacture a viral protein that your immune system would then recognize. It's not much different from getting infected with covid, except you're not using your cells to manufacture a live virus. Stop the bullshit and focus on the real issue at hand.
Thanks Doc. We don't always agree, but we can agree on science.
Here's my question, if you care to humor me: what are the chances that the body stops recognizing the spike protein as foreign and in turn stops producing antibodies? This would open the door to a more severe viral infection before the body would react.
As a side note, have you seen the studies with mRNA vaccine trials for mink? All the mink had a negative outcome.
I think the more likely scenario is that simply the spike protein mutates and the antibodies will longer work against it, or at least not work as well. In fact, I think this scenario is guaranteed to happen. For example, there are some versions of the vaccine from various companies that have great efficacy against some of the strains, and poor against others. Whereas other companies do better against the new strains.
I don't think there is a big chance that the spike protein itself stops being recognized as foreign because there is a limited amount of mrna that will generate the protein. Ultimately, the proteins will be removed by the same antibodies, and the antibodies are all that will remain. So the questions become: how long does the immune response last, how durable is it against new strains, how often do you need boosters, how good is the actual protection (I know several who got covid after 1 or both doses of the vaccine). And that doesn't begin to touch on long term safety and side effects, which don't know yet and will not know for several years. I have not taken the vaccine, but the vast majority of my colleagues my department did. I do not advise people against taking the vaccine, but I don't advise them to take it either. I tell them to do their own risk assessment and decide for themselves whether the risk of the virus outweighs the unknowns of the vaccine. But I don't do primary care so patients don't really come to me for advice on vaccinations.
I have not seen the studies for mink so I can't comment on them.
Thank you for the reply.