Chest infections
Eradicating COVID-19 scourge: It is up to all of us— get vaccinated!
Dr. Marcus I. Restrepo
2021 brings hope, spurred by the availability of several effective COVID-19 vaccines – unprecedented scientific advances, considering that these vaccines were developed in record time. We have stark choices: while some individuals ignore scientific evidence and refuse to take the vaccine, we from the Chest Infections NetWork urge an alternative and imperative choice. As health providers caring for COVID-19 patients, we first-hand witness the horrors of dying alone in a hospital bed – far away from beloved ones. I have a sticker on my car that says: If you do not like your mask, you will not like my ventilator. With the advent of vaccines, I plan on replacing this sticker: If you do not want to get vaccinated, you will not like my ventilator. When the vaccine became available at my institution, I was the first to roll up my sleeve and feel the pinch in my upper arm. I urge you all to do the same. Make a difference, do your part – get vaccinated.
Marcos I. Restrepo, MD, MSc, PhD
Chair
Clinical pulmonary medicine
COVID-19 vaccines – mRNA and beyond
We currently have two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines with US FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for use in individuals less than or equal to age 18 years – Pfizer and Moderna. They work by introducing mRNA into a muscle cell that instructs the host cell ribosomes to express Sars-CoV-2 spike proteins, thereby triggering a systemic immune response.
Dr. Mary Jo Farmer
Both are two-dose regimens, with Pfizer’s 21 days apart and requires storage at -75 C, and Moderna’s 28 days apart, requiring storage at -20 C.
Dr. Shyam Subramanian
Presently in development are three more vaccines. AstraZeneca (AZ) and Johnson & Johnson (JnJ) use an adenovirus vector. Both vaccines are stable at standard refrigerator temperatures. AZ’s results were mixed – with two, full-size doses efficacy at 62% effective, but with a half-dose followed by a full dose, efficacy was 90%. Novavax candidate works differently - it’s a protein subunit vaccine and uses a lab-made version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, mixed with an adjuvant to help trigger the immune system. Results from all trials are eagerly awaited.
Mary Jo S. Farmer, MD, PhD, FCCP
Steering Committee Member
Shyam Subramanian, MD, FCCP
Chair