Reviewing Moderna's briefing document, which was made public this morning. The vaccine is clearly effective at preventing severe disease and will receive emergency authorization in the next week.
My focus is on side effects and adverse events. 1/
fda.gov/media/144434/d…
My focus is on side effects and adverse events. 1/
fda.gov/media/144434/d…
You're going to hear that many of the side effects are actually a sign that the vaccine is working. Here's what that means. After an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna) is injected into your arm, muscle cells will take up the material and make coronavirus spike protein. 2/
The material is also taken up by something called a dendritic cell. This cell will also make spike protein, and will then travel to the local lymph nodes (in the armpit) to stimulate more immune cells (helper T cells and cytotoxic T cells) to spring into action. 3/
Signaling molecules (cytokines) will then prompt the immune system to produce fever, chills, & a vague sense of discomfort. This response is so robust, 21% of Moderna volunteers under age 65 felt armpit swelling in the inoculation arm compared to just 7% in the placebo group. 4/
That's an amazing (albeit uncomfortable) sign that the vaccine is working. These effects can be even more pronounced after the second shot because your immune system is primed to respond. The sensation has been compared to receiving a tetanus shot.
It's important to: 1) prepare people for these sensations 2) have a plan in place to manage symptoms and 3) stagger the vaccine rollout so essential workers have time to recover.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
