York Circle - COVID 19 Vaccine: Production, Policy, Politics

The speakers were Dr Harris Ali, Dr Gillian Wu, Dr Vivian Sarikakis and Dr A.M. Viens. These are my notes. We are eight months into the pandemic. Dr Sarikakis began with the questions…What is a gene? What is a protein? Ability of a cell to carry out its function. SARS-COV-2 was identified a year ago from a patient in China. We had SARS-COV BJO1 form before (bats) and another from the Middle East. What is it? It looks like spikes - red - on the crown of the virus and the grey portion is important that by washing with soap and water, this destroys the envelope, thus the virus. Basically, a key to unlock the host and therefore enters the hosts cell. After vaccination - antibodies should stop the key to open it up and infect the cells. SARS-COV-2 life cycle - 1. Entry - recognition between spike and ACE2 receptor proteins. 2. Replication: RNA genome is released in cell which generates copies. 3. Release - new virus is released. Can inject adjacent cells. (There was more details regarding are therapeutics may be used. You can find how this all works regarding cells and immunity in my earlier blogs so I won’t be repeating this. Dr Wu reported 1. Viral RNA detected in the back of the nose. Lab performs the test which takes time. She described how testing is done and how it has evolved to shorter time. There are three vaccines right now which is big - has to enable the spike protein to the person’s immune system therefore activating the immune system. (again read my earlier blogs for elaboration. We were being typed live on facebook but I couldn’t find it today for you to watch. I do recommend you watch this once it is back on the internet (York University - titled as per my caption). Dr Wu talked about the vaccines still needing approval, however, she will take whatever is first approved. Dr Harris Ali, Dept of Sociology talked about misinformation about the pandemic and vaccines. - misinformation, fake news, conspiracy theories etc…The vaccine hesitancy is party of the social environment - consideration of politics, anti vaccine campaigns, misinformation (unintentionally misleading) and disinformation (intentionally misleading). In recent studies in the US, it was revealed that 35% of Americans might not want to get COVID vaccines. Mis/Disinformation may fuel conspiracy theories. The objective is breaking the connection between the agent and the host. That is what washing with soap and water is all about. Anti vaccination social media accounts with COVID 19 conspiracy narrative has grown by 19% in follower account during this time. People are busy and so rely on shortcuts, often looking for consistency with their own attitudes. People will sometimes disregard additional fact checking that contradicts their political beliefs. Dr Ali spoke of his involvement with Ebola in Africa. People denied Eboli until their loved ones died. Global warming is more abstract. We need to be able to stay safe longer with controlled measures when the vaccine is being distributed. Dr Viens spoke of the population of Ontario having almost 15 million people. Question asked? Who will get the vaccine first? There was some discussion regarding distribution principals for scare resources. Ethical questions came into play. It was reported that Aboriginals have ten years less life expectancy. Other potential relevant factors. How long will the vaccine last? More than one dose? An international concern is required. Panel spoke that normally 10-15 years is required to produce a vaccine. HIV - 40 years and still no vaccine. In Canada we maintain working as a country and not individual. We are kind in compared to some countries. The potential to improve society with kindness, to improve society and not just our health. Factors such as where we live, the structure etc…goes beyond self care. There was a question period and my question was asked first from the panel, my first name is clear (last not so much). I had concerns because of what I heard from the news (misinformed unintentionally). Answer: The testing was double blind. Patients are reporting. It is transparent. 44,000 people have been tested. It has been peer reviewed. There has been sharing of information. Everyone has been working together. Lots of money has been donated for this research. 2003 SARS inf. Corona Virus has agents of SARS. Around the world, putting aside differences and real time connection - unprecedented at that time. We are working more together nowadays (than 20 years ago). We are evolving for the future. Another question - Is a refusal of 35% referring to the vaccine affecting the rest of us? We have no data yet, because there is no vaccine as yet. If there is a children’s party and one is infected - all will get it. This is a human right? Question: Does Canada have the experience to provide vaccine to the entire population? Response: Urban yes. Worry is those who are marginalized and remote communities (aboriginals). Canada is a cold climate. Other countries don’t have the capacity for freezers to accommodate billions of doses of vaccines. Dr Harris begins talking about Africa and electricity problems (I watched a documentary about this and it is problematic). Question: Frequency of testing vaccine? We know for now that it is five months effective. Mutation in the virus changes. Vaccine is required for that change. We are still vaccinated by the 1918 virus. It has changed and we are still vaccinated each year. This lecture was live on facebook however I could not find the link so decided to share my notes with you. I have another about the pandemic from York University that I attended a while ago but it is still relevant. I will get that for you next week. I have also attended a two hour session with our college and will attended another two hours. I cannot share that with you. There are times I am not able to share and that is ok. So please, keep safe. I will not be proof reading this so any errors are mine alone. I have also had to turn down some interesting events simply because of restricted time.