{"id":43344,"date":"2021-04-10T09:59:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-10T16:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=43344"},"modified":"2021-04-10T09:59:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-10T16:59:48","slug":"everyday-erinyes-261","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2021\/04\/10\/everyday-erinyes-261\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Erinyes #261"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto<\/span><\/strong>, Megaera<\/strong><\/span>, and Tisiphone<\/span><\/strong>. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”<\/p>\n

It would appear to be time for us and the Furies to join the conversation about vaccines. I know some here have been fully vaccinated, and some partially. I have not really even looked yet, because it’s no hardship for me to stay isolated (no family that need hugs, a dependable routine, etc.), it’s still pretty cold (it warms up for a few days and then gets cold again), and I have had other things to think about. I certainly intend to get vaccinated (during out window of warmth) and will pursue it aggressively as soon as that happens. And it will most likely be with an mRNA vaccine, since those are the ones in greatest supply – and I expect everyone here who has been vaccinated has had one of those also. But probably without being aware of how revolutionary they are.
\n================================================================<\/p>\n

How do mRNA vaccines work \u2013 and why do you need a second dose? 5 essential reads<\/h1>\n
New mRNA vaccines use genes from the coronavirus to produce immunity.
\n Andriy Onufriyenko\/Moment via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Daniel Merino<\/a>, The Conversation<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Tens of millions of people<\/a> across the U.S. have received a coronavirus vaccine. So far, the majority of doses have been either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine<\/a>, both of which use mRNA to generate an immune response. These gene-based vaccines have been in the works for decades, but this is the first time they have been used widely in people.<\/p>\n

MRNA vaccines are proving to be more effective than anyone had hoped<\/a>, but as with any new medical advancement, people have a lot of questions. How do they work? Are they safe? Do I really need two shots? Why do they need to be kept so cold? And will this be the vaccine technology of the future? Below, we highlight five articles from The Conversation that will help answer your questions about mRNA vaccines.<\/p>\n

1. A vaccine revolution<\/h2>\n

\u201cDNA and mRNA vaccines offer huge advantages over traditional types of vaccines<\/a>, since they use only genetic code from a pathogen \u2013 rather than the entire virus or bacteria,\u201d writes Deborah Fuller, a microbiologist<\/a> at the University of Washington who has been working on gene-based vaccines for decades.<\/p>\n

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are proof that mRNA vaccines are ready for prime time \u2013 and far surpass their predecessors. \u201cThe hopes that gene-based vaccines could one day provide a vaccine for malaria or HIV, cure cancer, replace less effective traditional vaccines or be ready to stop the next pandemic before it gets started are no longer far-fetched,\u201d explains Fuller.<\/p>\n

2. How does an mRNA vaccine work?<\/h2>\n

These vaccines are not only effective, they work in a fundamentally different way from traditional vaccines, explains Sanjay Mishra<\/a>, a staff scientist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.<\/p>\n

Traditional vaccines use an entire dead virus \u2013 or just a piece of one \u2013 to generate immunity. \u201cBut an mRNA vaccine is different<\/a>,\u201d writes Mishra, \u201cbecause rather than having the viral protein injected, a person receives genetic material \u2013 mRNA \u2013 that encodes the viral protein. When these genetic instructions are injected into the upper arm, the muscle cells translate them to make the viral protein directly in the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Just as the pandemic hit, mRNA vaccine research had reached a tipping point.<\/span>
\nCDC\/Alissa Eckert, MSMI; Dan Higgins, MAMS<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Quick to market, but still safe<\/h2>\n

\u201cSafety is the first and foremost goal for a vaccine,\u201d says William Petri<\/a>, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia. A lot of people have expressed safety concerns based on how fast these vaccines were developed, approved and distributed.<\/p>\n

According to Petri, the vaccines still went through every normal step \u2013 they just did them simultaneously.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, safety is not compromised by the speed of vaccine development<\/a> and emergency use authorization. The reason that vaccines may be approved so quickly is that the large clinical trials to assess vaccine efficacy and safety are happening at the same time as the large-scale manufacturing preparation, funded by the federal government\u2019s Operation Warp Speed program.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

4. Why it\u2019s important to get your second shot<\/h2>\n

You got your first vaccine shot. But with shortages and supply problems, getting the second dose might be becoming a hassle. Does it really matter? Yes, explains William Petri in another article.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first dose primes the immune system and introduces the body to the germ of interest. This allows the immune system to prepare its defense. The second dose, or booster, provides the opportunity for the immune system to ramp up the quality and quantity of the antibodies used to fight the virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immunity is a complex process, and \u201cif the booster isn\u2019t given within the appropriate window, lower quantities of antibodies will be produced that may not provide as powerful protection from the virus<\/a>,\u201d writes Petri. So go get your second shot if you can, even if you have to get it a bit later than expected.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Both doses are important for full immunity.<\/span>
\nAP Photo\/Paul Sancya<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Subzero storage makes distribution a challenge<\/h2>\n

For all of their amazing attributes, mRNA vaccines do have at least one weakness: \u201cIf they get too warm or too cold they spoil. And, just like fish, a spoiled vaccine must be thrown away,\u201d explains Anna Nagurney<\/a>, Professor of Operations Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who studies medical supply chains.<\/p>\n

The mRNA molecule is very fragile, so vaccines need to be kept at extremely cold, very specific temperatures \u2013 a challenge for distribution. \u201cThe answer is something called the vaccine cold chain<\/a> \u2013 a supply chain that can keep vaccines in tightly controlled temperatures from the moment they are made to the moment that they are administered to a person,\u201d explains Nagurney. This cold supply chain is critical to getting vaccines where they need to go, and without it, no matter how good the vaccines are, they can\u2019t make much of a difference.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation\u2019s archives.<\/em>\"The<\/p>\n

Daniel Merino<\/a>, Assistant Editor: Science, Health, Environment; Co-Host: The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

================================================================
\nAlecto<\/span><\/strong>, Megaera<\/strong><\/span>, and Tisiphone<\/span><\/strong> as scary as the pandemic has been, and still is, and sadly will continue to be, not through the fault of health care providers exactly, but primarily due to the unwillingness of so many people to get vaccinated (and I grant that, particular for certain groups underserved for decades, some distrust is justified) – as scary as it is, there is hope coming out of it, not only in how to handle this virus, but how to deal with future pandemics better than we did with this one. Of course that will require us to keep electing, and in increasing numbers, intelligent, knowledgeable, and caring leaders. I wish I knew what to do about that being so difficult.<\/p>\n

The Furies and I will be back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":40592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3913,3729,4345],"class_list":["post-43344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-covid-19","tag-furies","tag-vaccines","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}