COVID–19 Vaccine Information

There is a large second wave of COVID-19 in this country and this is a reminder that everyone should be working hard to optimize his or her health and wellness. At least 2,259 new coronavirus deaths and 207,444 new cases were reported in the United States on December 12. Over the past week, there has been an average of 208,097 cases per day, an increase of 28 percent from the average two weeks earlier. At least 85 new coronavirus deaths and 7,407 new cases were reported in Indiana on December 12. Over the past week, there has been an average of 6,368 cases per day, an increase of 12 percent from the average two weeks earlier.

The United States weekly death rate was 9,059 and 9,902 during the 2 weeks of 11/14 and 11/21. This compares to our all-time high number of 17,094 back on 4/18/2020. Fortunately, the death rate continues to fall. Hamilton County has averaged approximately 2 deaths per day over the past 2 weeks, 83% were over 70 years old.

COVID-19 symptoms can sometimes persist for months. The virus can damage the lungs, heart, and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems. Anyone with persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain, chest pain, muscle pain, headache, pounding heart, problems with memory or concentration, insomnia rash, or hair loss after an acute illness should be seen as soon as possible. I believe that rather than direct long-term damage from the coronavirus, people are experiencing a suppressed immune system, which leads to an “overgrowth” of already elevated levels of chronic pathological bacteria and viruses. That is why we frequently screen “healthy individuals” for antibody levels of chlamydia pneumonia, mycoplasma pneumonia, Epstein-Barr virus, and Lyme. We often screen for more extensive pathogens when our clients have significant symptoms.

The new Pfizer/BioNTech covid-19 vaccine is now available. It is the first-ever US approved messenger RNA, mRNA, vaccine. The vaccine has 2 components, the actual sequence of mRNA surrounded by lipid nanoparticles, LNPs, as the delivery mechanism. The lipid coating helps the mRNA enter the muscle cells near the vaccination site. mRNA can most easily be described as instructions for the cell on how to make a piece of the “spike protein” that is unique to SARS-CoV-2. Since only part of the protein is made, it should not do any harm to the person vaccinated, but it should help stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against the coronavirus.

After the piece of the spike protein is made, the cell breaks down the mRNA strand and disposes of them using enzymes in the cell. It is important to note that the mRNA strand should never enters the cell’s nucleus or affect genetic material. This information helps counter misinformation about how mRNA vaccines alter or modify someone’s genetic makeup. Once displayed on the cell surface, the protein or antigen causes the immune system to begin producing antibodies and activating T-cells (a type of white blood cell) to fight off what it thinks is an infection. These antibodies are specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which means the immune system is primed to protect against future infection.

How effective is the vaccine?

The phase 3 trials of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine involved 42,000 people, about half of whom got the experimental vaccine and the rest a placebo. In total, 170 people fell ill with covid-19. Only eight of them were in the vaccine group; 162 had received the placebo. It is important to note that phase 3 of this clinical trial has yet to be completed.

People who took part in the study did experience a number of side effects after taking the vaccine. The FDA noted the most common side effects were injection site reactions (84.1 percent), fatigue (62.9 percent), headache (55.1 percent), muscle pain (38.3 percent), chills (31.9 percent), joint pain (23.6 percent), and fever (14.2 percent).

Fortunately, unlike flu vaccines, it does seem to work quite well in the elderly. It is not approved for under the age of 16. It has not shown to make some COVID-19 cases worse, which was a concern with previous coronavirus vaccines.

Unfortunately, we do not know how long a person will develop immunity against the virus. The estimates are from “months or even years” according to UgurSahin, the CEO of the company that co-developed the vaccine with Pfizer. So far, no research has demonstrated that this new vaccine prevents infection altogether or reduces the spread of disease in a population. This leaves open the chance that those who are vaccinated could remain susceptible to asymptomatic infection — and could transmit that infection to others who remain vulnerable. “In the worst-case scenario, you have people walking around feeling fine, but shedding virus everywhere,” says virologist Stephen Griffin of the University of Leeds, UK.

Will an RNA Vaccine Permanently Alter My DNA?

Dr. Doug Corrigan Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a Master’s in Engineering Physics (concentration: Solid State Physics), and a Bachelor’s in Engineering Physics (concentration: electrical engineering), is not alone when he states that the fear with a synthetic mRNA vaccine is that it may malfunction and alter one’s own DNA. Under normal conditions, the mRNA vaccine is designed to deliver a mRNA pay load into the cytoplasm of the cell. From here, the cells will use the mRNA as a blueprint to manufacture proteins. Some proteins are excreting from the cell, while others are presented on the surface of the MHC–1, a group of genes that code for proteins found on the surfaces of cells that help the immune system recognize foreign substances. The mRNA would need to transfer into the cell nucleus to combine with, alter, or add to the DNA. There is no known mechanism (within the vaccine) to facilitate this action.

DNA vaccines are a different story. Here is a potential malfunction that could lead to altered DNA in the host. It is possible that reverse transcriptase and integrated enzymes can originate from human endogenous retrovirus or even from contamination found in other vaccines that could provide the necessary functionality to write mRNA vaccine sequences into your DNA.

The studies have shown decent efficacy in Phase III clinical trials (although I would strongly argue the sample sizes of infected individuals in both experiments were so small that making this efficacy claim is rather dubious at this stage, in my opinion).

Dr. Corrigan’s professional opinion is that since RNA vaccines are a new mode of delivering vaccines, they should be tested for 5-10 years to demonstrate that genetic modification is not a major concern. In addition, all coronavirus vaccines, regardless of type, should be tested for an equal duration to show that ADE, antibody dependent enhancement, is not a concern. This situation can allow a corona virus infection to be much worse from receiving a vaccine. It is impossible to rule out these safety concerns in less than a year.

The bottom line is that the choice is up to you; however, for people to make such an important decision, they need to possess all the information. Please do your own research. What is the real risk/reward benefit? When I calculate that up to 80% of healthy people are either asymptomatic or go unreported coupled with over reported PCR testing, the chances of dying from Covid in healthy people, under the age of 65, is 1 in 30,000. For me, I will continue focusing on health and wellness with vitamins, a healthy lifestyle, and if I am infected I will rely on our holistic measures that can help relieve the symptoms of an acute viral illness and forego the vaccine.

Be well,

Dr. Fetters