As more and more COVID-19 vaccines are getting approved, many people start to question the safety of vaccines, which is the biggest challenge for us to reach herd immunity. But are these concerns really necessary?
In the middle of this year, my friends and I were talking about how this pandemic changed our daily lives. Back then, getting vaccinated for COVID-19 was still a beautiful dream. We asked ourselves, if COVID-19 vaccines were available, would we choose to get one? As a young researcher, who worked on vaccine development, my answer was a solid yes. However, one of my friends mentioned some vaccine safety concerns based on his personal experience with the flu vaccine a few years ago. He was worried that he would actually become sick/COVID-positive after the vaccination because he still developed flu symptoms after his flu shot.
I believe many people have some similar experience like this, but is vaccine really the cause for your “sickness”? If we look at how flu viruses circulate, we would know the answer.
Every year, scientists develop flu vaccines the year before the flu season. They predict which flu strain will be most likely to be active the next year based on its circulation patterns, which usually works well. However, flu viruses mutate really fast, which sometimes makes the pre-made flu vaccines less effective, but it is NOT the vaccine itself that gives you the sickness.
In terms of the COVID vaccine in use, it consists of RNA, a molecule that directs your body to produce part of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and it will NOT insert into your DNA or cause any mutations. It is understandable that if you are worried when the vaccine is live attenuated, but the COVID vaccine we are getting is not the actual virus, and it will not produce any viral particles in your body.
More importantly, vaccines DO NOT stop pathogens from entering your body (window to spread viruses), but when they do, your immune system has been “warmed up” by vaccines and its memory will help you eliminate viruses, or at least not develop severe symptoms. Therefore, even if you are vaccinated, keeping social distance and wearing masks are still the best way to protect yourself and the others, especially immunodeficient patients.
So please DO get vaccinated if it’s available to you! Let’s terminate this pandemic together!