While many of us are waiting for a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a good portion of folks have a dose of skepticism about the shots 鈥� the question is if it鈥檚 a healthy one.
Clockwise from top left, Alex Likowski, executive director of media relations for UMB; Mario Majette, MD, MPH; Courtney Jones Carney, MBA; and Milagritos Tapia, MD.
Experts from the 91大神, Baltimore (UMB) helped UMB faculty, students, and staff sort through their concerns to help them understand if the COVID-19 vaccine is right for them during a forum March 10 titled 鈥淪hould I Get the Shot? A Community Conversation.鈥�
A healthy dose of skepticism is good to have, but we have to educate ourselves to be aware when skepticism bleeds into conspiracy theory territory, said Mario Majette, MD, MPH, clinical instructor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, and director of student and employee health at the 91大神 School of Medicine (UMSOM).
鈥淢istrust is healthy in most cases as long as it really doesn鈥檛 go a little too far,鈥� Majette said.
The comment centered around mistrust that some people shared about Johnson & Johnson, the maker of one of the three COVID-19 vaccines that have received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because of its , said Courtney Jones Carney, MBA, executive director, intercultural leadership and engagement, and director, UMB Intercultural Center, which hosted the virtual event. If people don鈥檛 have a choice of vaccine, it creates an apprehension for some people knowing they might be given the Johnson& Johnson shot, she said.
Majette pointed to the fact that there might be cases anyone can point to at different pharmaceutical companies that people could take issue with unrelated to the research, review, and approval of COVID-19 vaccines.
However, it is important to acknowledge and explain the cases of historical mistrust of medical studies and access in minority populations because of the Tuskegee Institute syphilis study (formally, and the cancer cells used from Henrietta Lacks without her knowledge or approval, Majette added. Ethical and human subject protection measures have since been reformed to avoid taking advantage of minority populations in scientific studies 鈥� but these measures are not a cure-all for equity and preventing all instances of unethical behavior. The available vaccines are safe and effective for all races, according to the clinical trials research.
鈥淚f you weren鈥檛 questioning, that鈥檚 probably worse than accepting things because there鈥檚 been a lot of history. With that said, there鈥檚 nothing that I鈥檝e seen and no evidence whatsoever that this vaccine isn鈥檛 good for people of color,鈥� Majette said.
Milagritos Tapia, MD, professor, Department of Pediatrics, UMSOM, and infectious disease specialist, Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, addressed the misunderstanding of messenger RNA鈥檚 (mRNA) role in the vaccine. Tapia was sent a Natural News article from an audience member to examine that circulates a falsehood stating that mRNA will suppress the proteins that fight cancer; mRNA codes for proteins for specific functions, so they鈥檙e all different.
鈥渕RNA is just a word,鈥� Tapia said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like pants. All pants are different. Some pants are short pants, some pants are long pants. It鈥檚 like somebody saying to you, 鈥楶ants cause cancer.鈥� What kind of pants? What do these pants look like?鈥�
The mRNA that codes for the spike protein to fight COVID-19 is a different mRNA from the one that codes for proteins that fight cancer, Tapia said.
Beyond battling mistrust, often via misinformation, having facts to weigh against each other is tricky if you don鈥檛 know what to do with them. Interpreting rates and numbers against other vaccines is a slippery slope because the vaccines were tested in different populations during different points of the pandemic. The comparison can be deceiving.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not comparing apples to apples. It looks like you are because they鈥檙e numbers, and math is math. One number is bigger than another number,鈥� Tapia said.
The vaccines overwhelmingly prevent hospitalization and death, she added.
The public is widely encouraged to get the first available vaccine offered to them when they are eligible according to their local criteria, but there are some factors that could prompt a brief delay in getting the shot and some information that needs to be weighed.
Pregnant women and new mothers are just two of those groups that have decisions to make. Admittedly, an answer for breastfeeding mothers is tough to give a definitive yes or no, Majette said, because clinical trials and additional studies have not been completed on those populations. However, in the course of trials, women have become pregnant while getting a vaccine.
鈥淭he consensus is, in general there鈥檚 been no relation between the vaccine and nursing mothers. There鈥檚 been very little evidence that the vaccine has an effect on pregnancies,鈥� Majette said.
Tapia keyed in on the technology of the vaccines to explain why they would be a safe choice for pregnant women.
鈥淗ow likely is it, based on the way that we know these vaccines work, that there would be any type of transmission to a fetus or effect on a baby being breastfed?鈥� Tapia said. 鈥淏ased on that science, it is extremely unlikely there would be any effect.鈥�
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a that is a modified version of a common virus (adenovirus) to deliver an antigen that causes cells to make the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Once the body starts to produce the spike protein, antibodies are created to fight it. Those same antibodies are then ready to fight COVID-19. The vector does not replicate in the body, Tapia explained.
鈥淚f there was any concern about the virus causing a problem for the person receiving the vaccine, it鈥檚 not possible based on the fact that the virus does not multiply inside the human body,鈥� she said.
Because there is boundless information 鈥� good and bad 鈥� out there, the best place to start with discussing the vaccines is with your doctor, Tapia said. Reliable information found on the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites can be difficult to understand, and your doctor can help interpret the information. (Majette also recommended .)
鈥淵ou should go to your doctor and say, 鈥榃hat does this mean?鈥� 鈥� Tapia said.
