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> I'd prefer to get the mRNA vaccines as they seem much more effective I am still unsure which route seems best. Don’t mRNA vaccines target the spike protein?

> I'd prefer to get the mRNA vaccines as they seem much more effective I am still unsure which route seems best. Don’t mRNA vaccines target the spike protein? The spike is a topic of debate currently as mutations/changes to the spike (South African variant etc) may affect mRNA vaccines more? Moderna themselves are developing a booster shot targeting the SA variant & a separate booster for all the other variants (U.K. et al) for this very reason (read: you’ll need 2 doses of vaccine & 2 booster shots for full protection against all current forms of COVID/virus) So the mRNA route might well be 4 shots for just the variants we know about. That isn’t to say non mRNA vaccines (AstraZeneca, J&J) won’t also have the same issues (decreased effectiveness against the mutated virus ) but from what I’ve read it seems more likely to affect mRNA

ericb 6y ago
They almost all target the spike, including J&J and non-mrna vaccines. The vaccines all "work" against the variants in the sense of "no severe illness, and no deaths." So yes, you might "get" a variant, but to my mind, that's still a huge win! As for boosters, I don't mind and don't care if I'm already in a category that prevents the severe cases.
- whycombagator 6y ago
  > They almost all target the spike, including J&J and non-mrna vaccines. You are correct. That being said, the targeting of the spike protein for the adenovirus vaccines is different to mRNA vaccines[0] I have done some more reading & have seen the recent news of AZ & J&J having less effectiveness against the South African variant. With one positive for J&J being that their trial ran later than the other current crop of vaccines & part of the trial was done in South Africa - so more data is available[1]. Additionally, mRNA vaccines have been associated with instances of anaphylaxis[1], which has yet to be observed with the adenovirus vaccines (which could be due to mechanism, or that they have been used on less of the global populous to date). Furthermore, there is a strange "benign" rash appearing on peoples arms after being administered the mRNA vaccine - we are being told it's harmless, but also that nobody knows what it is precisely. You can look up "COVID arm" for details. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-john... [1] https://www.kqed.org/science/1972627/the-differences-between-the-pfizer-moderna-and-johnson-johnson-coronavirus-vaccines-explained https://www.kqed.org/science/1972627/the-differences-between...

ericb 6y ago

They almost all target the spike, including J&J and non-mrna vaccines. The vaccines all "work" against the variants in the sense of "no severe illness, and no deaths." So yes, you might "get" a variant, but to my mind, that's still a huge win! As for boosters, I don't mind and don't care if I'm already in a category that prevents the severe cases.

whycombagator 6y ago
> They almost all target the spike, including J&J and non-mrna vaccines. You are correct. That being said, the targeting of the spike protein for the adenovirus vaccines is different to mRNA vaccines[0] I have done some more reading & have seen the recent news of AZ & J&J having less effectiveness against the South African variant. With one positive for J&J being that their trial ran later than the other current crop of vaccines & part of the trial was done in South Africa - so more data is available[1]. Additionally, mRNA vaccines have been associated with instances of anaphylaxis[1], which has yet to be observed with the adenovirus vaccines (which could be due to mechanism, or that they have been used on less of the global populous to date). Furthermore, there is a strange "benign" rash appearing on peoples arms after being administered the mRNA vaccine - we are being told it's harmless, but also that nobody knows what it is precisely. You can look up "COVID arm" for details. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-john... [1] https://www.kqed.org/science/1972627/the-differences-between-the-pfizer-moderna-and-johnson-johnson-coronavirus-vaccines-explained https://www.kqed.org/science/1972627/the-differences-between...