Does taking the mRNA vaccine cause the immune system to malfunction? Vaccine critical expert: The evidence is weak and the role of vaccines is misunderstood!
Does taking the mRNA vaccine cause the immune system to malfunction? Expert: The evidence is insufficient and “pieced together”
Recently, several media cited two foreign papers, the titles of which pointed out that the administration of mRNA vaccines leads to “fear of malfunction of the human immune system” or “failure of the natural immune system.” The report also quoted a retrospective paper, claiming that “vaccination will cause serious Impairing type I interferon signaling and altering the operation of the innate immune system” caused panic among some people and spread widely on the Internet.
Professor Gu Zhenglun from Chang Gung Memorial University’s Institute of Clinical Medicine said in an exclusive interview with “healthorn” that the two papers quoted in the report did not have enough evidence to support their arguments, nor were they the consensus of the current scientific community. The media reported them without verification, fearing to increase the number of people. Misconceptions about vaccines.
Professor Gu Zhenglun pointed out that the first of the two papers cited in the report (“Innate immune suppression by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations: The role of G-quadruplexes, exosomes, and MicroRNAs”) is not original research. , has presented no new trial data to support its claim that mRNA vaccines cause harm to the immune system.
The second paper is a draft published by a scholar in a preprint. It has not been peer-reviewed and the information and charts are incomplete. There is no substantial evidence to support the statement that “vaccination may cause malfunction of the human immune system.”
Professor Gu Zhenglun said that the evidence in the two papers was obviously insufficient and it was impossible to conclude that the vaccine would cause immunity failure. The media should assume social responsibility and should not ignore verification in pursuit of attracting attention to topics. Medical experts should be consulted before reporting on controversial research to avoid panic among the public.
Does vaccination reduce the interferon system?
Professor Gu Zhenglun said that judging from the narrative of the retrospective paper, the author discussed the interferon system, immune response and even the mechanism of mRNA vaccines. “Scientists have clearly understood that interferon is very important in fighting the COVID-19 virus. But there is no clear evidence that interferon levels will decrease after vaccination!”
Professor Gu Zhenglun explained that the mRNA vaccine uses fat to coat the mRNA fragments and generates antigens and immune responses after being injected into the body. But the body’s cells detect foreign RNA and trigger an immune response, producing interferons and cytokines. During the vaccine development stage, the dose and side effect tolerance must be strictly calculated in order to reduce the risk of excessively high doses inducing a strong interferon response and causing physical discomfort, rather than inhibiting the effect of interferon.
Professor Gu Zhenglun also explained that the weakening of the interferon system does seriously affect the body’s ability to fight infections. Research over the past two years has also proven that gene deletion leads to problems with the production and function of type 1 interferon, or that autoantibodies cause type 1 interferon. Neutralization of interferon may increase the chance of severe viral infection and death.
However, if the administration of the mRNA vaccine will lead to a decrease in the interferon system, there will definitely be obvious data in clinical trials and vaccine monitoring data on hundreds of millions of people around the world, and the vaccine will also be “removed” due to safety concerns. At present, there are no relevant reports from various countries showing that administration of mRNA vaccines will lead to a decline in immune function. A single retrospective paper infers that mRNA will cause the immune system to malfunction. The evidence is relatively weak and has no academic value for discussion.
Will there be long-term antibodies after vaccination? Immune system activation time is significantly shortened
Analyzing people’s psychology of relaying relevant news, we can understand that what the public is really concerned about is whether there will be long-term changes in the immunity of the body after vaccination.
Professor Gu Zhenglun explained that the purpose of the vaccine is to “deceive” the immune system into triggering a series of responses when germs invade. Among them, B cells will produce antibodies to neutralize or attack the surface of germs; T cells have “helper” and “killer” types. , helper T cells will support killer T cells and antibody activation, and killer T cells will recognize the virus and eliminate infected cells.
Importantly, these cells do not disappear but remain in the body for a long time. The number of T cells will slowly decline, but some memory T cells will remain around the immune system. The number of B cells will also shrink, but memory B cells or plasma cells will be produced to continue to produce antibodies in the body to maintain the body’s basic protection against this type of bacteria. Therefore, although the concentration of antibodies will gradually decrease, the time for the immune system to be fully activated will be rapidly shortened when the virus invades for the second time, from the original 8-14 days to 3-4 days.
Will vaccine technology encounter a century-old enemy? Why vaccines can’t eliminate COVID-19?
However, vaccine technology has encountered a once-in-a-century opponent, the COVID-19 virus.
Professor Gu Zhenglun said that after the vaccine is administered, the immune system will be fully activated within a short period of time, producing a large number of plasmablasts. Antibodies will have a half-life, so the concentration in the body will decrease over time. After most vaccines are administered, as long as a certain concentration of antibodies is maintained, they can resist bacterial invasion for a long time. However, the antibody concentration required to prevent COVID-19 virus infection is “surprisingly high”, which may be related to the fact that the infection site requires extremely high antibodies to produce protection.
Professor Gu Zhenglun pointed out that the principle of general vaccine design is that the antibodies of plasma cells and memory B cells remaining in the body after administration can provide long-term protection. However, the mutations of the COVID-19 virus have caused the protective effect of antibodies to decline extremely quickly. Soon, the degradation of antibodies and the mutation of the virus will prompt people to need an additional second, third or even fourth dose of the vaccine to maintain effective protection.
“This virus is co-evolving with humans. Vaccination may have limited effect against infection, but the sharp decline in the number of deaths is a significant fact, indicating that the COVID-19 vaccine is extremely important to “save lives” in reducing severe illness and death! We cannot It is difficult to maintain NPI by wearing a mask all your life if you expect that no one around you will be infected. Vaccines are definitely an important weapon to help humanity survive and return to normal life!”
The war between humans and viruses is not over yet! Is it possible to develop a “once and for all” killer vaccine?
Will regular vaccination be required in the future? Professor Gu Zhenglun believes that the mutation speed of COVID-19 is “neither fast nor slow” and that it is highly re-infectious. As humans are vaccinated, the virus continues to mutate in order to survive. It is currently impossible to accurately predict its evolution direction, but it is almost believed that the COVID-19 virus cannot be completely eradicated by existing vaccines alone.
Professor Gu Zhenglun said that in addition to vaccines against mutant strains, designing “multivalent” and “unified” vaccines, which can produce antibodies that act on the parts of the virus that don’t like mutations, in the hope of achieving a once-and-for-all effect, is also a very worthy endeavor. direction.
“Actually, no expert can accurately predict the future direction of the virus. After all, the war between humans and the COVID-19 virus is not over yet.”
Are mRNA vaccines safe? Is it necessary to “have to fight”?
The mRNA vaccine is considered to be the most effective vaccine against the COVID-19 virus currently, but is the mRNA vaccine really safe enough?
Professor Gu Zhenglun said that there has been no clear evidence that vaccination will interfere with the immune system and have long-term negative effects. Everyone’s genetics, genes, and physical health are different, but developing vaccines requires extremely stringent safety considerations, and even if the difference in immune response is affected, it may be minimal.
“Of course the safety of vaccines is very important. After all, they are intended to be administered to healthy people. However, in the face of a century-old pandemic, vaccines can be said to be the greatest invention of mankind, bar none!” Professor Gu Zhenglun emphasized that it may be different from administering vaccines. Compared with the risks, vaccines are the key to saving human survival in the face of a once-in-a-century COVID-19 epidemic.
Professor Gu Zhenglun gave an example. Without polio vaccine, 2-5% of children would die from it. Vaccines must have scientifically recognized safety, but there is no guarantee that vaccines are 100% safe. However, in the face of threats from microorganisms and germs, vaccines are indeed necessary.
COVID-19 is extremely cunning! Experts: Vaccines can save at least 20 million more people from disasters
Professor Gu Zhenglun said that the protective effect of vaccines on the community is divided into two levels. The first is self-protection. We individuals can choose whether to take the vaccine, but we must evaluate whether it is a reasonable and responsible way for our own health; second, the vaccine’s For public health purposes, vaccination of low-risk groups can prevent the virus from being transmitted to high-risk groups through recipients. Vaccination of high-risk groups has been clearly known to reduce death and severe disease rates. Therefore, vaccination can not only help yourself but also help others.
This is why governments of various countries have granted EUA temporary emergency authorization when reviewing COVDI-19 vaccines, allowing those who are willing to take the vaccine to protect themselves and form a firewall. Research estimates that the vaccine will save at least 20 million precious lives in 2021.
“In the past, it took 8-10 years, or even longer, to develop a vaccine. This time, scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and the government are doing their best to face the COVID-19 virus. Everyone must know that the COVID-19 virus is extremely cunning and highly contagious. We cannot make the virus disappear like it did with SARS last time. Of course, epidemic prevention cannot be successful by following traditional methods!”
Professor Gu Zhenglun believes that various vaccines may have safety concerns. From the balance of protecting life and considering the risk of side effects, vaccination is undoubtedly the best approach for the community. At the same time, scientists are continuing to monitor the safety data of mRNA and future next-generation vaccines. If the public has any questions about vaccination, they should consult infectious diseases doctors and vaccinologists, or read reports from trusted media, and do not trust what is relayed on the Internet. False rumors create false fears and perceptions.
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