BY SANDRA GUY
The key to World Immunization Week April 20-25 is to get your COVID vaccination, regardless of its producer.
It’s actually a race against time — before an even more contagious COVID-19 variant kills even more people.
In America, scientists say people hesitating to get vaccinated and abandoning masks, social distancing and other restrictions are opening the door for the faster-acting variants to grow.
Another reminder of COVID’s danger is the continuing suffering of “long-haulers” — millions of COVID survivors who, a year after testing positive — still endure exhaustion, muscle pain, brain fog and other debilitating conditions.
To try to get the truth to prevail, Don Brown’s Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic non-fiction series has added “A Shot in the Arm!” which tells the history of vaccines and offers clever infographic explanations of how vaccines help antigens fight pathogens, according to a New York Times review. [tinyurl.com/d2ytzr28]
Though aimed at children, the book, “A Shot in the Arm!” offers accessible explanations about science and medicine, and especially the vital role that vaccinations have played throughout history.
For those seeking a more technological dive, NPR has reported that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are made from mRNA technology.
The idea, beyond today’s vaccines, is to develop solutions that guide each person’s immune system to target the most virulent part of a virus.
For now, the goal is herd immunity.
White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci has estimated that 70 to 85 percent of the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated to develop “a blanket of protection over the country and very little viral activity.”
Some experts predict a return to normalcy as soon as April or May, while others say it may not be until 2022. The timing depends on vaccination rates, the length of people’s natural immunity after they’ve tested positive for COVID-19, the spread and deadliness of new variants and the numbers of people who refuse vaccination.
Anyone who has been vaccinated must still take precautions. The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that even those vaccinated must wait two weeks after the final vaccination so your body can build up immunity. It’s possible to contract COVID-19 before or just after getting vaccinated because you must let the vaccine have time to work.
After you’ve been patient and wise, you can meet with a friend or a small group of friends, but everyone must be fully vaccinated to stay safe.
Experts caution that you must still wear your mask, and preferably a double mask; defer traveling; stay away from groups of people outside of your household; and continue to maintain social distancing practices.