Are you confused about the COVID-19 vaccine? Let’s talk about the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccines and Your Headaches on this episode of The Headache Channel.
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You probably already know that almost all infectious diseases are caused by either bacteria or viruses that invade your body and try to take over.
After your body successfully fights an infection, your immune system keeps a memory of how to fight that specific virus or bacteria in the future. When the same bacterium or virus tries to invade again, your immune response is faster and more effective. It stops the invasion before it can take over and before you get really sick.
The idea behind vaccination is to give your immune system a memory of how to fight an infection without actually giving you an infection that would kill you.
Today we make weak versions of disease-causing viruses in a lab by growing them, choosing weak ones, and repeating the process. This process can take many years to get just right. Examples of attenuated live viruses include polio, measles, mumps, and yellow fever.
Another traditional approach to making vaccines is to inactivate or kill the virus. You grow the disease-causing viruses, and then destroy them with heat, chemicals, or radiation so they can’t cause disease. Examples of inactivated vaccines that you probably know about include most flu shots, hepatitis A, and the rabies shot.
The part of a virus that triggers your immune response is usually a protein. In the case of the COVID virus, it’s the spike protein. Your own cells are always constantly making proteins. So, if we could program your own cells to make spike proteins for a little while, we could teach your immune system to detect and fight COVID.
mRNA, or messenger ribonucleic acid, is a set of instructions that tells your cells what protein to make. All you need is some fancy modern science to find the code for the COVID spike protein and then assemble the mRNA code in mass quantities.
mRNA vaccines can be made and manufactured by machines in mass quantities in weeks, not years. An mRNA vaccine delivers just the code for the protein, and your body does all the rest.
To help the mRNA get inside your cells, it is packaged in microscopic oil bubbles, called liposomes or lipid nanoparticles.
With mRNA vaccines the only thing that is used is mRNA and the oils used to make the liposomes. There are no preservatives, and this is one reason why the mRNA vaccines have a limited shelf life and have to be kept very cold. There is also no virus, so there’s no chance of getting sick or making other people sick.
The other advantage of mRNA vaccines is that it’s relatively easy to change the programming. So, when a virus mutates, as we are seeing with the COVID-19 virus, we can quickly reprogram the vaccine to keep up.
Which mRNA vaccine is right for you?
Right now there are two mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, Pfizer and Moderna.
The Pfizer vaccine is approved for people 16 years and up. You get two shots in your shoulder 21 days apart. It is around 95% effective. Side effects include fatigue and headache, injection site pain, and flulike symptoms, all of which get better on their own.
The Moderna vaccine is for people 18 and older. You get 2 shots in your shoulder 28 days apart. It’s also around 95% effective. Side effects include injection site pain, swelling and redness, and flulike symptoms, all of which get better in a few days.
According to current CDC guidelines, the only contraindication or reason you can’t take the COVID mRNA vaccine is that you had a severe allergic reaction to that vaccine or the vaccine components in the past.
And there are two reasons you should put off your COVID-19 vaccination: First, if you have had another vaccination in the past 14 days. And second, if you have been treated for COVID with specific COVID monoclonal antibodies or COVID convalescent plasma treatment.
You can get the COVID mRNA vaccine if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, and if you’ve had conditions like Bell’s palsy, myasthenia gravis, Guillain barre syndrome, cancer or if you are immune suppressed.
And remember, because the mRNA vaccine is very pure and has minimal ingredients, you can still get your shot if you are allergic to eggs or latex, or you have food or animal allergies.
Remember these guidelines can change, so always refer to your doctor and the latest CDC guidelines.
The Headache Channel is for information and entertainment purposes only. If you need medical advice, please see your physician.
