As we all know, the world has been struggling and fighting with the deadly Coronavirus. The pandemic started in the beginning of last year and is still present to this day. Fortunately Pfizer-BioNTech pharmaceutical concern created a vaccine that might help and restore the world to normal.
How does the vaccine work?
The COVID-19 vaccine helps our bodies develop immunity to the virus, without us getting the illness. There are different types of vaccines, however, they all leave a “memory” in the body that will remember how to fight the virus in the future. Basically when vaccinated, you get a small, weakened part of the virus injected into your body, so that it will be able to fight it without a problem and be prepared to fight it in the future. In case of the COVID-19 vaccine (it is an mRNA vaccine) people are injected the material from the virus that causes the disease and gives our cells instructions for how to make a protein that is unique to the virus, and after that destroy the genetic material from the vaccine. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is given in two phases (2 shots that are 21 days apart).
Is it safe?
The whole idea of a vaccine is to prepare your body to fight with the virus in a safe and controlled way. That means that vaccines are overall safe and don’t cause major side effects. The side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine may include: pain, swelling and redness (on the arm where you got the vaccine), tiredness, headaches and chills (throughout the body). Of course we should remember that these symptoms might show but are rare and most often you feel just a little tired.
What is the anti- vaccine movement?
Even though there are rigorous vaccine safety systems in different countries, including Poland, there are still some people that refuse to vaccinate themselves and their children. Some vaccines are considered obligatory and people that are a part of the anti-vaccine movement think that they should have a choice whether that want to take the vaccine or not. This is cause by the fear of the potential side effects. We should remember that the decision to refuse vaccines also affects public health, since less people are immune to the disease and it increases the possibility of catching the virus.
Anna Minakowska
Sources:
USA. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Pfizer-BioNTech.html
USA. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Pfizer-BioNTech.html