COVID-19 Update, Thursday, February 25th

Brief Vaccine Primer

I apologize for the extra post this week but I want to clarify something and I thought this would be a quick and easy way to do that. The primary objective of vaccines is to prevent death. If you get the flu vaccine and then later still get the flu but you don't die - the vaccine did its job. Here are some basics about vaccines that people really need to understand along with a little graphic I created to help you see the functions/goals.

1. Vaccines take time to work. You don't get the shot and become instantly immune. Different vaccines take different amounts of time. When getting a vaccine you should ask how long it will be until you develop immunity.

2. Vaccines don't work in 100% of people 100% of the time. So you may get vaccinated and not develop immunity. We don't know exactly why. Probably the same reason the same headache medicine doesn't work for everyone. It is not exceedingly common that the vaccine won't work in someone, but it does happen.

3. The primary purpose of a vaccine is to stop you from dying. This is goal #1 of all vaccines, not just COVID vaccines. If you survive the illness, it worked. Goal #2 is to prevent you from getting sick. This goal can be broken into 2a (prevent severe illness) and 2b (prevent all illness including mild). We are trying to keep you out of the hospital, off the ventilator, and free of lost wages and big medical bills. Goal #3 is to prevent you from being able to spread the disease. This is the pinnacle goal and some vaccines achieve this and some do not. People who are vaccinated shed the disease at a lower rate than people who are not, but with some diseases (like Polio) you can still shed the disease even though you will never get sick. We don't know yet if you can still shed COVID once vaccinated that is TBD.

4. Vaccines are a medication - and like all medications, they include possible side effects and risks. This is actually pretty much true of all substances on earth. Some people get sick from drinking milk. Some people have severe hay fever from breathing the air. Some people break out in hives from consuming cinnamon. Some people can't wash their clothes in certain soaps. Some people can't be in a room where a peanut once was. And some people won't respond well to a particular vaccine. There are risks. Know your risk, weigh your risks and make the decision that is right for you.