{"id":915,"date":"2022-07-22T13:46:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T20:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=915"},"modified":"2022-07-25T17:07:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T00:07:37","slug":"fact-or-fiction-is-the-coronavirus-vaccine-effective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=915","title":{"rendered":"Fact or Fiction:  Is the Coronavirus Vaccine effective?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>12 Minute, 27 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Coronavirus vaccines are indeed very effective in preventing hospitalization and death, but not as much against getting infected.<\/li><li>Neutralizing antibodies generated in response to vaccines kick in nearly instantly and are therefore most effective in preventing infection.&nbsp; However, with the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Coronavirus\">coronavirus<\/a>, they wane with time and are less effective against the new variants, including Omicron, BA.4, BA.5, BA.75, etc.<\/li><li>B-Cells and T-Cells are also generated in response to vaccines. They take longer to act, usually sometime after an infection occurs.&nbsp; However, they remain very robust over time and as new variants emerge, thereby protecting against severe and prolonged infection.<\/li><li>Overall, vaccines continue to meet the fundamental Operation Warp Speed objective of protection from hospitalization and death.&nbsp; This protection is very significant, but no vaccine is 100%.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m sure we&#8217;re all familiar with the ongoing debate on whether the coronavirus vaccine will protect us and whether or not it&#8217;s worth getting.\u00a0 Some highly credible sources within the medical community say it is still our best first-line defense whereas others say it\u2019s useless. There is also a lot of publicity to the effect of how the new variants evade vaccines and prior infection.  And worse, the debate has clearly taken on a life of its own and, as the &#8220;yeas&#8221; and &#8220;nays&#8221; often align with one&#8217;s political party.  So, why is there such a huge disparity and who do we believe?  What is the ground truth, and how do we get to it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The short answer is it depends on one&#8217;s expectations of the vaccine.  If you want a 100% safeguard against contracting the coronavirus, testing positive, and\/or developing even the mildest of symptoms, unfortunately, you are likely in for a disappointment.  However, if your primary expectation is to avoid a severe coronavirus infection requiring hospitalization or leading to death, then I&#8217;m sure you will be pleased to know that <strong>the current vaccines still protect well against hospitalization and death<\/strong>, even with the new variants.  Note, there is still a risk of severe illness\/death, especially for those with underlying conditions and those who are immunocompromised.  However, the risk of this happening with most healthy people is much lower than it would be if that same person remains unvaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m sure, from this, we can easily understand why so many people get confused or led to the wrong conclusions.  Hence, my intent is to help clear up some of the confusion and help the reader understand \u2013 at least from a 50,000-foot view, how the coronavirus vaccine works and how\/why it offers the protection level that it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The truth is coronavirus vaccines have always offered only limited protection from getting infected and getting sick.\u00a0 This already marginal protection from getting infected\/vaccinated has proven to wane quickly with time, and it seems to wane even more quickly with nearly each new major variant.\u00a0 Yet, by contrast, the protection vaccines provide against getting severely ill with COVID or dying of COVID is holding up quite well over time and with new variants.\u00a0 So why the disparity between protection from initial infection and protection from hospitalization and death?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This partial success can be easily explained via a basic understanding of how the vaccines and our immune systems work.\u00a0 In essence and as many of us are aware, vaccines simply \u201cteach\u201d our immune system to recognize a coronavirus infection and how to combat it.\u00a0 Our immune systems protect us from various infections\/illness by having the 3 main components of our immune systems working together.\u00a0 Fundamentally, what nearly all \u2013 if not all \u2013 vaccines do is exercise each of those components as separate components and in unison in the same or similar ways that actual infections do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, I will start with an overview of our immune systems&#8217; components and how they work.&nbsp; Then, I will talk about how the vaccines interact with our immune system and offer insight into connecting the dots and translating all of this into what we should and should not expect of vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><u>The 3 Main Components of the Human Immune System and How They Work<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong><strong>Antibodies<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are born with a set of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antibody\">antibodies<\/a>.\u00a0 They are always present at some level and are dispersed within our blood and tissues.  They provide the first line of defense against an antigen\/intruder.\u00a0 Because they are always present, their response is nearly instantaneous.\u00a0 It usually takes only minutes to just a few hours for our bodies to mount a substantial antibody response.\u00a0 Foreign substances that our antibodies directly attack are called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antigen\">antigens<\/a>.  They include the types of germs that are common in our environment.\u00a0 Since our antibodies are always present in our blood, they will immediately activate and pounce on a newly-introduced antigen, usually within minutes or hours.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An antibody response occurs via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phagocytosis\">phagocytosis<\/a>, which is a major mechanism used to remove disease-causing germs, called <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pathogen\">pathogens<\/a>, and cell debris. The ingested material is then digested in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phagosome\">phagosome<\/a>, which is a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vesicle_(biology_and_chemistry)\">vesicle<\/a>\u00a0) (AKA membrane) formed around a particle engulfed by a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phagocyte\">phagocyte<\/a>\u00a0via phagocytosis. A phagocyte is simply a type of cell within the body capable of engulfing and absorbing bacteria and other small cells and particles.\u00a0 This is what makes antibodies so effective in preventing and fighting an infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some antibodies are &#8220;general purpose&#8221; and will thus go after nearly any antigen that they encounter.  Other antibodies specifically target a particular antigen type.  The &#8220;specific&#8221; antibodies are actually formed by our B cells, in our B cells&#8217; response to the pathogen.  (See below for more information on B cells.)  So, they are present only sometime after an initial infection or vaccine occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:20px\"><strong>Innate Versus Adaptive Immune Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the body is first invaded by a pathogen, <strong>two things<\/strong> happen:  <strong>First<\/strong>, the non-specific antibodies that are always present in our blood and tissues will immediately engage and fight the pathogen.  This is a key part of what is known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1931312821002328\">innate immune response<\/a>.  We are born with such mechanisms.  <strong>Second<\/strong>, the body&#8217;s immune system will mount what we call an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fimmu.2022.848582\/full\">adaptive immune response<\/a>.\u00a0 This occurs simultaneously with the innate response, and it targets the specific pathogen that has invaded the body.  Pathogens are live organisms that contain antigens in the form of proteins that are on the surface of a given germ cell.\u00a0 They include bacteria and viruses, including the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The adaptive response engages\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B_cell\">B cells<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/T_cell\">T cells<\/a>\u00a0(see below for descriptions of each) in addition to the antibodies already present in our blood.\u00a0 Our bodies recognize that a particular antigen should not be there, and it builds B cells and T cells that will remember how to fight a specific pathogen if it infects us again in the future.\u00a0 The B cells and T cells provide a very strong response that are often much stronger than the initial innate response; however, there is a downside.\u00a0 It can take up to several weeks after infection before they will fully recognize and fight a particular antigen.\u00a0 As they kick in, the greater number of cells of a given pathogen, the greater the B cell and T cell response.\u00a0 B cells also produce antibodies that are specific to a particular pathogen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hence, with an adaptive response, the antibodies provide an immediate response.&nbsp; That immediate response is a combination of the antibodies present as part of the innate response plus those produced by B cells, which are a result of a prior adaptive response.&nbsp; The T cells also fight the pathogen very aggressively; however, like the B cells, it usually takes a few days for them to mount a significant response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let&#8217;s talk about next two major components of our immune response to the coronavirus:  B cells and T cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>B Cells<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B cells, AKA \u201cmemory\u201d cells, are a type of white blood cell, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lymphocyte\">lymphocyte<\/a>\u00a0that is activated when it encounters an antigen in the blood.\u00a0 It then, in turn, formulates specific antibodies that will attack that particular antigen.\u00a0 Hence, B cells are the \u201crecipe book\u201d that remembers the specific antigen and respective antibody of the pathogen that was in the person\u2019s blood as a result of a previous infection or vaccination.\u00a0 After the infection, a low level of B cells will remain in the blood for a long time.\u00a0 As soon as they encounter that same antigen again, they will go right to work producing the specific antibody that will attack that particular antigen.\u00a0 Because it already knows the \u201crecipe\u201d of the antibody, it usually takes much less time for the B cells to produce the needed antibodies after the vaccine or initial infection.  End result: an arsenal of pathogen-specific antibodies that supplement the non-specific antibodies that are always present.  However, these supplemental\/specific (unlike the non-specific\/innate) antibodies tend to wane with time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>T Cells<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>T cells are lymphocytes that come in two forms.&nbsp; 1)&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/T_helper_cell\">\u201chelper\u201d cells<\/a>&nbsp;aid other immune cells by releasing&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cytokine\">cytokines<\/a>.&nbsp; Cytokines control and regulate the body\u2019s inflammatory response.&nbsp; 2)&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cytotoxic_T_cell\">\u201ckiller\u201d cells<\/a>, which directly attack and kill cells that are infected with a particular pathogen or cancer cell.&nbsp; Combined, both types of T cells pose an extremely strong immune response.&nbsp; However, like B cells, they take time to materialize after an infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:20px\"><strong>Combined Response of These 3 Components<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can tell from the above, these 3 components (antibodies, B cells, and T cells) all work together to fight off a given infection.\u00a0 The antibodies (both specific and non-specific) provide the immediate response, and the B cells and T cells provide a much stronger response, but it takes time for them to mount up that response, especially upon first-time exposure.  Also, the &#8220;specific&#8221; antibodies tend to wane with time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a virus like the coronavirus infects us, it starts to quickly reproduce and spread while, simultaneously, our immune system is ramping up its B cells and T cells to fight it off.\u00a0 This creates a \u201crace\u201d condition between the virus and these two components of our immune systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there are already enough antibodies present in the blood and tissues upon initial infection, they will annihilate \u2013 or at least neutralize \u2013 the virus\/bacteria before it has a chance to replicate enough to produce symptoms.\u00a0 This is what prevents us from getting sick at all \u2013 the best-case scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, in reality, such is often not the case.&nbsp; The initial antibody response might slow down the spread of the pathogen but not be intense enough to stop it.&nbsp; This leads to a race-to-the-finish-line situation between the pathogen spreading and the B cells and T cells mounting their response.&nbsp; The further along the spread before these special lymphocytes kick in along with more antigen-specific antibodies produced by the B cells, the more severe the disease is likely to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">How Vaccines Help<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vaccines are instrumental in fighting pathogens, including the coronavirus, in that they tilt the race condition in favor of our immune systems.\u00a0 They do this by introducing small amounts of either an attenuated (live but unable to reproduce) version of the pathogen, the dead pathogen (with antigens intact) or parts of the pathogen (again, with antigens intact).\u00a0 Because the pathogen cannot spread, the aforementioned race condition doesn\u2019t exist. Thus, it doesn\u2019t matter how long it takes for the B cells and T cells to &#8220;teach&#8221; our immune systems how to mount a full-up immune response.\u00a0 In the case of the coronavirus and several other vaccines, it takes about 2 weeks or longer to mount a full response, and that\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, once a full-up response occurs the first time, a certain number of antibodies, B cells, and T cells specific to this pathogen remain in our blood.&nbsp; The B cells already know the \u201crecipe\u201d of the antibodies and other responses needed to fight the pathogen.&nbsp; Thus, the timeline for the B cells and T cells to mount their full response a second time is much shorter.&nbsp; This helps a lot, in that it will all but guarantee that the immune system will win the race to avoid severe illness (assuming one has a healthy immune system), should our bodies actually become infected with the same pathogen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>Why Are Vaccines Against Some Diseases Are More Effective Than Vaccines Against Other Diseases?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason is twofold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>With some diseases, the antibody count in our blood remains high for longer periods (specific antibodies only). This is due to how our bodies react to the pathogen, regardless of whether it\u2019s introduced via vaccine or actual infection.\u00a0 This provides a more intense first-line immune response that is often enough to annihilate the disease \u2013 or at least impede it \u2013 before it can spread, thereby preventing any symptomatic infection.<\/li><li>Some diseases spread more rapidly than others.\u00a0 For the slower spreading ones, the B cells and T cells have more time to mount an adequate response to annihilate the disease before it causes symptoms.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>How Does This Relate to The Coronavirus Vaccines?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the coronavirus, itself, presents the worst of both worlds.&nbsp; Our body\u2019s coronavirus-specific antibody count drops off fairly sharply after infection or vaccine,&nbsp;<strong><u>and<\/u><\/strong>&nbsp;the virus multiplies\/spreads extremely rapidly.&nbsp; Thus, especially with the newer variants, the coronavirus often wins the race to symptomatic infection despite the vaccine\u2019s best effort to preclude this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, thanks to the B cells being pre-programmed by the vaccine, the B cells and T cells still engage soon enough (in most cases) to prevent the coronavirus from spreading so much\/so fast that it causes severe illness that requires hospitalization.&nbsp; To me, this alone is a huge upside and is compelling reason enough for us to get the vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Conclusions<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coronavirus vaccines often don\u2019t prevent us from getting sick with the coronavirus.&nbsp; However, such illness is usually milder than it would be without vaccination and is much less likely to progress to the point that one must be hospitalized or worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is really the primary objective of the vaccines and is why we can deem the coronavirus vaccine program, as developed under Operation Warp Speed, a success despite the fact that vaccines often don\u2019t prevent illness altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon approximately 2 weeks after receiving a coronavirus vaccine, we should not expect much protection from the common cold\/flu like symptoms of the coronavirus.&nbsp; However, we should know that we have significantly greater protection against severe infections that might otherwise land us in the hospital or worse. This is not enough protection for us to completely let our guard down, but enough to breathe a sigh of relief and resume our normal life activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Additional Information<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For additional information, please check out the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?page_id=843\">Understanding The Coronavirus Vaccine<\/a>&#8221; page on my website.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"915\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                        \n                                                <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-2\" post-id=\"915\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/sad.svg\" alt=\"Sad\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Sad                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-3\" post-id=\"915\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/excited.svg\" alt=\"Excited\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Excited                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-6\" post-id=\"915\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/sleepy.svg\" alt=\"Sleepy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Sleepy                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                        \n                                                <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-4\" post-id=\"915\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/angry.svg\" alt=\"Angry\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">Angry<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                        \n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-5\" post-id=\"915\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/surprise.svg\" alt=\"Surprise\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">Surprise<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coronavirus vaccines are indeed very effective in preventing hospitalization and death, but not as much against getting infected. Neutralizing antibodies generated in response to vaccines kick in nearly instantly and are therefore most effective in preventing infection.&nbsp; However, with the&nbsp;coronavirus, they wane with time and are less effective against the new variants, including Omicron, BA.4, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[85,15],"tags":[5,14,7],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-editor","category-health","tag-covid-19-vaccine","tag-covid-49-symptoms","tag-us-covid-19-case"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=300%2C157&ssl=1",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=768%2C402&ssl=1",768,402,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=1024%2C536&ssl=1",1024,536,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1",1200,628,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1",1200,628,true],"pk-small":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?resize=80%2C80&ssl=1",80,80,true],"pk-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1",300,225,true],"bigbulletin-500-300":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?resize=500%2C300&ssl=1",500,300,true]},"author_info":{"info":["The Editor"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?cat=85\" rel=\"category\">From the Editor<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?cat=15\" rel=\"category\">Health<\/a>","tag_info":"Health","comment_count":"4","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/covid-vac-vial.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1939,"url":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=1939","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":0},"title":"Should I Get the New Coronavirus\/Omicron Boost?\u00a0 Yes, and Timing is Everything","date":"September 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The new mRNA Coronavirus booster shots, supplied by Moderna and Pfizer, are rapidly becoming available.They are formulated to protect against the original Wuhan virus and the newer\/dominant Omicron variants, BA.4, BA.5.\u00a0 They are also effective against the slow-growing BA.4.6 strain.Per the FDA authorization and CDC guidelines, anyone 12 years old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;From the Editor&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Omicron-Booster-Featured-Image.png?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1789,"url":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=1789","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":1},"title":"Could the Coronavirus Vaccine Cause Long COVID?","date":"August 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent Washington Post Article entitled \u201cNew study suggests covid increases risks of brain disorders\u201d via Yahoo News talks about an elevated risk of brain disorder two years after one getting sick with COVID.\u00a0 The study, originally published in the Lancet Psychiatry, showed increased risks of some brain disorders two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;From the Editor&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/COVID-Vaccine-Post-Image.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":679,"url":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=679","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":2},"title":"The Latest COVID Outbreak \u2013 Where Do We Go From Here?","date":"July 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems we\u2019re stuck in a perpetual pattern regarding COVID.\u00a0 It surges.\u00a0 We get vaccinated\/boosted.\u00a0 The surge subsides, and we think we\u2019re out of the woods.\u00a0 Then it surges again with a more vaccine-elusive and more contagious variant.\u00a0 Case counts eventually come back down, and, again, we think we see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;From The News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/corona-virus.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34,"url":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=34","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":3},"title":"The Millennium\u2019s Greatest Miracle \u2013 the COVID-19 Vaccine","date":"December 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m sure we all agree that COVID-19 is the worst thing that has happened to humankind since the 1918 Spanish flu.\u00a0 For well over a century, the sinking of the Titanic was viewed as the worst disaster, and for good reason because over 1500 people died.\u00a0 However, the 911 Twin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ready-for-it.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":178,"url":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=178","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":4},"title":"Operation Warp Speed\u2019s Success Story","date":"January 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s all over the news that Operation Warp Speed did not meet its target of producing, distributing and administering at least 20 million doses prior to the end of 2020.\u00a0 According to the CDC Data Tracker, 12.4 million doses have been distributed and only 2.8 million administered as of 9:00\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.druryjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/operation-warp-speed.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1061,"url":"https:\/\/www.druryjournal.com\/?p=1061","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":5},"title":"What We Need to Know About Monkeypox","date":"July 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Monkeypox is a viral disease whose origin and symptoms are similar to smallpox; however, it\u2019s not as serious as smallpox and is rarely fatal.\u00a0 Its symptoms are mainly fever, headache, muscle aches, pimple like\/blister like rashes on the face, inside the mouth and on other parts of the body.It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;From the 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