Vaccines are preventives, not cures.

The purpose of vaccination is to bring the severity down to the level of a benign virus. That’s how this works. In the face of variants, our best protection against the convergent evolution we are witnessing is to get more people vaccinated,
and get infection levels down to a manageable amount. Masks, social distancing measures, testing, tracing, and sufficient lockdowns. It works. We have seen it. Witness other countries who are on their way to establishing some normalcy. It’s not impossible.
Now with that said, all of the vaccines available thus far have proven to be 100% effective at preventing severe cases of COVID, hospitalization, and death. This is what matters. Even in the face of these variants. What I need everyone to stop doing is torturing themselves by
reading these doom and gloom articles and tweets that are literately only there so these people can get their views and/or their money. STOP doing that to yourselves. It doesn’t help. Instead, what we need to do is continue to put the pressure on our representatives to get us
access to these vaccines. Stop making yourself panic by reading these tweets about this virus and these variants with little to no scientific context with just an attention grabbing headline. It does you no good. Instead, voice the disdain and put the pressure on those who have
dropped the ball with vaccine allocation. It is our responsibility to reduce these infections to stop this virus from mutating so it doesn’t get to the point where it CAN evade our current vaccines. We have to do this. I have emailed my Governor just now
because I am disgusted with how this has gone. I can’t even get a vaccine for my 87 year-old Grandmother yet. Our leaders have dropped the ball when we have literately placed it in their hands. Instead of panicking and giving those who don’t deserve your attention like
some self-proclaimed epidemiologists here I know, do something. These vaccines were made with YOUR tax dollars. They are yours. Let’s start acting like it. The reason I am so transparent with you all is because I don’t get paid for this. My income does not rely on my tweets which
is why I am going to be completely straightforward with you guys. This is on us. We have to do our part by sticking to proper social distancing measures and getting vaccinated when our time comes. I mean this all in the most earnest, least rude way possible.
For those who are misunderstanding and/or taking my words out of context. I never said to not take this seriously. I’m a scientist, I would never say that. If anything it’s the opposite. This virus has become my life’s purpose at the moment. Fear is NOT equivalent to logic.
What I am trying to say is do not heed these outlets that provide no scientific data with their headlines. Consider where you get information from. Is it from someone with firsthand knowledge on the subject? A peer-reviewed journal? Or is it a tabloid? Just a thought to consider.
I’m relieved to see the sentiment is shared on most of my points. ☺️

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More from @sailorrooscout

2 Feb
Some REALLY promising results coming out of Oxford/AstraZeneca. After one dose of their vaccine after 22 days: 76% efficacy against symptomatic COVID and 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations. After two doses: 54% reduction in transmission.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
Make no mistake, reduction is transmission is a GAME CHANGER. Not to mention, antibody response appears to be more robust after longer interval between their doses. This presents data to justify safely delaying doses if and when vaccines are in short supply. It’s quite a relief.
Also before you scoff at that 54% let me remind you we don’t even have enough data to establish that our mRNA vaccines prevent transmission yet, okay? Remember what I told you guys, 100% effective at preventing death, severe cases, and hospitalizations is VITAL and that matters.
Read 6 tweets
2 Feb
Concerning the SARS-CoV-2 variants that were first identified in the UK (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), and Brazil (P.1), their specific mutations focus on altering the fitness of the virus by improving its rate of transmission but with mild signs of immune evasion. A thread.
From what we have seen, it is evident that B.1.1.7 (UK strain) is inherently more transmissible when compared to the original strain ( by ~50%), and it may be right to assume when populations are exposed to this variant, it’ll likely become the dominant strain relatively quickly.
While B.1.351 and P.1 are independent lineages, they have several key mutations in common being (see my screens for descriptions of the mutations of concern we targeted with our vaccines) D416G, K417N/T, E484K, and N501Y (whereas N501Y, D416G, and E484K are shared with B.1.1.7).
Read 14 tweets
1 Feb
Okay, while this sounds alarming, I am here to tell you this is to be expected. Viruses undergo evolution and natural selection, just like cell-based life, and most of them evolve rapidly. The E484K mutation was already identified in the SA and Brazil variant, now the UK variant.
When two viruses infect a cell at the same time, they may swap genetic material to make new, "mixed" viruses with unique properties. For example, influenza strains can arise this way. Natural selection can only happen when it has the right starting material: genetic variation.
Genetic variation means there are some genetic (heritable) differences in a population. In viruses, variation comes from either recombination where viruses swap chunks of genetic material (DNA or RNA) or random mutation where a change occurs in the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus.
Read 7 tweets
1 Feb
Some good news that can’t help but be shared! Preliminary data from a study done (from none other than my alma mater) at the University of Maryland shows that those who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV2 may only need one dose of our mRNA vaccines to be fully protected!
Firstly, make sure you’re following Andrew- they’re pretty amazing. ✨ Secondly, from what this study shows, prior infection with SARS-CoV2 almost serves as a primer of sorts and therefore one dose of the vaccine serves as your booster.
Study participants who were previously infected responded extremely well to a single dose of these vaccines. Symptomatic or asymptomatic made no difference apparently. This is monumental for vaccine allocation and for being able to ramp up mass vaccination efforts.
Read 5 tweets
1 Feb
It’s #BlackHistoryMonth
This month is a time for highlighting and celebrating the many accomplishments and contributions made to the scientific, educational, and social justice fabric of this country by those in the Black community as these contributions often go unnoticed.
Read their stories. Uplift their voices. Share and comprehend their accomplishments, their struggles, their persistence, and their innovations. It is vital to recognize Black history because to truly understand our nation’s history, we all need to better understand Black history.
As a Black biracial person myself, this month is very important to me. To kick off the first day of Black History Month, I’d like to share this timeline created by the ASBMB highlighting important achievements in the life sciences made by Black scientists. asbmb.org/diversity/a-hi…
Read 4 tweets
26 Jan
Johnson & Johnson’s Coronavirus vaccine is likely to be the next in line available in the United States. With potential results to be expected next week per their CFO, I thought it might be helpful to explain how this vaccine works. The preliminary findings are promising. 🧬🦠🧫
Read 4 tweets

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