Thread by @WheatNOil

Novavax would be the second largest producer of asshole proteins in country.

*The Calgary Flames are first.

https://twitter.com/cbcalerts/status/1356638590940372994

Also, yes, the Novavax vaccine works via the asshole protein. This time, instead of mRNA or viral vectors, they just made the asshole protein itself. But how they did that was kind of cool.

They took the gene code for the asshole protein and put it in a different virus. Then they made that virus infect a bunch of moth cells in a lab.

So now you’ve got a ton of infected moth cells that are producing asshole proteins.

Then they harvest up all the asshole protein from the weird moth cell factory farm.

Bam! Fresh locally made asshole protein in large supply!

Gather those asshole proteins in bunches and tie them together with a really small particle and you’ve got yourself a vaccine!

Well, almost.

These proteins aren’t on a virus, and they’re not being produced by your cells, it’s possible your body will just ignore it or not make a big deal out of it.

Enter the adjuvant.

Adjuvants are sometimes part of vaccines to stimulate the immune response.

They’re not the main event. They’re the asshole protein’s hype man. They’re just there to get the immune system’s attention & pump up the crowd response so your body remembers the protein better.

Adjuvants tend to be a target for anti-vaxxers so it’s worth knowing what’s in this vaccine. It’s an extract from a soapbark tree. The story’s pretty cool to read about. (Warning: if you think my Twitter threads are long, hoo boy, grab a coffee.) theatlantic.com/science/archiv…

Anyways, the same as Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZenica, Sputnik... the Novavax vaccine contains no coronavirus & you can’t get COVID from it.

In this case, it’s the asshole protein and its hype man. Not the virus.

The vaccine seems to work really well. 89% effective in its phase 3 trial so far. Two doses. Don’t need super cold temps to store.

The South Africa mutation though seems to have enough changes to the asshole protein that Novavax is less effective against it but still does provide some protection. Also, even then, it seems to protect against severe infection. Novavax is working on a new booster if necessary.

And now, looks like we may be producing it in Canada as early as this summer (pending delays, b/c there’s always delays). Should help in that summer/fall push to get everyone vaccinated. ALSO, helpful to have a domestic producer of booster shots for variants if necessary.