“Infodemic” 1 Click Whatto edit copy should you do? What is a Vaccine? A biological product that safely induces an immune response to protect against disease upon exposure to the targeted infectious agent. Vaccines must contain some part of the infectious agent for the immune system to target. Vaccine Categories Active Inactivated (Killed” Attenuated Vaccines Vector Vaccines Parts of Infectious Agent Inactive Whole-agent • Measles, mumps, • Ebola vaccine Vaccines rubella vaccine (MMR) • Certain COVID-19 vaccines • Polio vaccine • Chickenpox vaccine o Johnson & Johnson/Janssen • Certain flu vaccines • Shingles vaccine • Hepatitis A vaccine Subunit Vaccines mRNA Vaccines • Certain flu vaccines Certain COVID-19 vaccines • Tetanus “shot” o Moderna • Pneumonia vaccine o Pfizer How do vector COVID-19 vaccines work? Spike protein is made; Spike protein the immune system is Gene for spike protein activated to recognize the spike protein Virus that causes Insert the spike protein COVID-19 gene into the vector Vector Vaccine (a harmless virus) The engineered virus cannot spread and does not cause disease How do mRNA COVID-19 vaccines work? mRNA used to mRNA make spike enters protein cells mRNA is a natural molecule found in cells Vaccine mRNA for a viral protein is coated to protect It and help it enter cells I’m asked a lot of Didn’t they questionsI about Could these kinda rush COVID vaccines… vaccines this? cause COVID? I’m unlikely to get severe COVID disease; Would you why should I get vaccinated? vaccinate your kid? Can these vaccines change our DNA? Not so new... As of this week, more than 95 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine Vector vaccines have been in development since the 1970s; FDA approved Erbevo in 2019 mRNA vaccines have been in development for the past 20 years and have been tested in humans for several viruses (rabies, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and Zika) Looking Ahead SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay…new strains expected and boosters will be necessary mRNA vaccinations have new wings…diverse applications possible.