As a follow-on to my last graphic and some of the wholly uninformed comments that I received (which have since been removed because spreading misguided media-fed beliefs as fact is just no ok, on my page or anywhere), I created this post to hopefully help inform.
Because DAMN is there a lot of confusion out there about the vaccines and variants, and really anything the public doesn’t like to hear but has to hear.
I’m not the one doing the research, people: greater minds are. I’m just the one sharing what I personally know through my Federal Covid task force work and involvement with public health agencies to try to help demystify and bring some clarity so that you can make informed decisions.
And although I could write a lengthy caption about why this shouldn’t be a novel thought - that after you’re vaccinated you should still wear a mask (and should any way because of vulnerable populations!) - I’m hoping the following studies, entries, and articles will help to keep you as informed as can be:
Articles:
1. https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20210309/s-african-variant-challenges-pfizer-moderna-vaccines
2. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/new-sars-cov-2-variants-how-can-vaccines-be-adapted
3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/covid-variant/expert-answers/faq-20505779
4. https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/new-covid-vaccines-needed-within-year-say-scientists
Studies and Medical Journals:
1. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.10.21251247v1
2. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2100362
3. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n597
4. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.25.428137v2
Lastly, please do not wait for the vaccines to be updated to get a vaccine. Waiting will only give #covid more time and opportunities to evolve (and put you and others at risk). The protection you get from the current vaccine is significant. We’ll simply need to be on top of things once the updated shots are available so that we’re “fully” protected (i.e. it becomes endemic like the flu with yearly shots for new variants, which will occur less rapidly due to vaccinations slowing the evolution)!