UAB experts say it’s safe, important to get COVID-19 vaccine

Experts at UAB say it’s important for the public to understand the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines now being distributed, according to UAB News.

The experts say that those benefits vastly outweigh any mild potential side effects or inconvenience the vaccines may cause.

COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in clinical trials and have been approved because those studies show that the vaccine significantly reduces the probability of contracting the virus.

Based on what has been proved about vaccines for other diseases, the COVID-19 vaccine may help keep you from getting seriously ill, even if you do get the virus.

Getting vaccinated also may protect people around you — particularly those at greater risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

In fact, the way the vaccines have been developed is a cause for celebration, said Dr. Michael Saag, a professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases.

“First, scientists developed the strategy and drug quickly,” Saag told UAB News. “Second, the resulting vaccine works at an almost unprecedented level of effectiveness. Third, the side-effect profile is the same as for most vaccines. You may get aches and fever that are gone in 36 hours, on average. So, this is a walk-off, grand-slam home run in the last game of the World Series that you rarely witness in medicine.”

COVID-19 vaccination is also a critical tool in helping to stop the pandemic.

Following CDC recommendations, such as wearing masks and social distancing, helps reduce your chance of being exposed to COVID-19 or spreading it to other people.

However, these steps are not enough. Vaccines work with your immune system, so it’s ready to fight the virus if you’re exposed.

Vaccination “is how we end the pandemic, full stop,” Saag said. “Once that is done, we can have a normal society again.”

COVID-19 vaccination is also a much safer way to help build protection than actually getting the virus.

Getting COVID-19 may offer some natural immunity, but experts don’t know how long that immunity lasts, and the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits.

Getting vaccinated creates an antibody response, so a person is protected without having to experience the illness.

UAB experts also say that the COVID-19 vaccines do not affect or interact with a person’s DNA at all.

The COVID-19 vaccines are a new type of vaccine, known as messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. These mRNA vaccines give instructions to our cells to make a harmless piece of what is called the spike protein, which is found on the surface of the virus.

COVID-19 mRNA never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where DNA is stored.

Once the instructions are inside your muscle cells, the cells use them to make the protein piece, then the cells break down the instructions and get rid of them.

Next, the cell places the protein piece on its surface. The immune system spots the protein and begins building an immune response and making antibodies to fight the infection.