Discussing the COVID-19 Vaccine with Dean Augustine M.K. Choi and Dr. Roy Gulick

Now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use authorization, many states have begun administering听injections to frontline healthcare workers and some of the country鈥檚 most vulnerable patients.

鈥淲e are truly experiencing history in the making,鈥澨says听Augustine M. K. Choi,听MD, the听Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, 麻豆传媒高清版听(WCM), and听provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University.听At WCM, Dean Choi adds, 鈥Workers听are听already getting听the听vaccine,听and听the general public will get it in the months and weeks to come.鈥

Dean Choi听and听Roy Gulick,听MD, MPH,听chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases,听recently discussed the vaccine, how it works,听and its administration听in an听. Here are the听five key takeaways from the webinar that you should know.

The听new听mRNA-based vaccines cannot听give you听the virus that causes COVID-19.

That鈥檚 because the injection only contains 鈥渁 tiny sliver of the genes of the virus called RNA,鈥 Dr. Gulick explains.听鈥淲e鈥檙e not using all the genes from the virus鈥.So听you could not get it from receiving the vaccine.鈥

Then the vaccine is injected into the muscle of the upper arm,听and听The muscle cells take up that RNA and use it as a template to make the spike protein of the Corona virus鈥.罢丑别听thinking goes that if you ever come into contact with the real virus, your immune system is already primed to do it.

These are effective vaccines.

When the FDA was advising drug companies on the design of the vaccines, they said they were looking for them to be about 50% effective.

鈥淲hat we learned from the clinical trials is each of the vaccines is approximately 95% effective,鈥 Dr. Gulick explains. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 as good as any other vaccine. We have the measles vaccine, for example, which is about 90% effective.鈥

Though the approved vaccines have not been studied in comparison with one another, 鈥淭hey both look like excellent vaccines,鈥 Dr. Gulick听says.

The approved vaccines come in two doses.The first injection, Dr. Gulick says, 鈥減rimes the immune system.鈥

That鈥檚听somewhat helpful,鈥 he says,听perhaps听offering patients听up to approximately 50% protection. 鈥淏ut to achieve that 95% protection, you really do need that second shot to make sure that the immune system is fully primed to make a response.鈥

The听two听Pfizer vaccine injections are separated by three weeks, and the听Moderna听injections are given four weeks apart.

There听can be听side effects, and that鈥檚 a good thing.

Side effects are,听telling us is that the immune system is responding to the vaccine,鈥 he says.听It鈥檚 already recognizing it as a foreign protein that needs to be dealt with.

The most common side effects have beenlocal pain or soreness at the site of the injection.听Though rare,听some patients have experienced听redness or swelling at that site听and, some听have听experienced fatigue, headache, or听muscle or joint aches.

We don鈥檛 yet have听all听of the information about who should receive the vaccine.

Some听groups of people听simply have not yet been studied, Dr. Gulick says.

In addition to people who may听be听allergic to a component of the injections,pregnant or breastfeeding women;听children under the age of 16;those听with听compromised immune systems, such as patients with cancer, transplanted organs, or uncontrolled HIV infectionshave not yet been included in clinical trials.

Dr. Gulick adds: 鈥淧eople really should have conversations with their own doctors before they receive the vaccine if they鈥檙e in those specific groups.鈥澨

Watch the full COVID-19 vaccine Q&A session below.

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