I've been observing with great concern the discourse on the COVID 19 vaccine. I know this long piece might not have any impact on your entrenched opinions. Nonetheless, I feel like it is my responsibility to share my opinions regardless.
It is saddening to note that in an era of great access to information, there is so much misinformation. And that misinformation is being repeated so much so that it is becoming fact in the minds of people.
But then as always, let's start with some perspective.
Let's start from the foundation - the genes. The genes are the details in the DNA blueprint for all the physical characteristics that make a living organism unique in its own way. The information stored by these genes contains instructions to the different cells on how to make proteins. The cells in your body rely on proteins to carry out the many processes necessary for the body to function.
Picture your basic cell system as a factory. The nucleus is the boss's office (where instructions come from), the cytoplasm is the factory ground (where proteins are assembled). There is the need to transfer instructions from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and that's where the star of the show comes in. The mRNA!
Stay with me, we are getting somewhere.
The Messenger RNA, or mRNA, was discovered in the early 1960s and research into how mRNA could be used to deliver information to cells was developed in the 1970s.
The early years of mRNA research were marked by a lot of enthusiasm for the potential it possesses but the technology available at the time made it largely impossible to implement.
The technical difficulties of creating mRNA that could be read and understood by the cells were enormous. For one, the body would pick up the mRNA but it would quickly degrade before it can deliver its message. By the time it reaches the cells, it would be largely unreadable.
The solution to this came in the form of advances in nanotechnology. Here, the messages are wrapped and encapsulated in a bubble-like structure that is readable and allowed entry into the cells.
Once it enters the cells, bam! Success. Now, the body can be given instructions on how to make proteins that resemble the spike proteins in the COVID virus.
But since these are proteins of COVID made by your own cells, your body has an easy way of fighting against it. It flawlessly defeats this spike protein resemblance while teaching your body how to fight COVID (like a vaccine should).
Previous vaccine types involved the use of weak or dead versions of the virus/pathogen and you can imagine how slow and unsustainable this whole process is. Theoretically, you now have to grow the virus in a lab, weaken it and ensure that it is not harmful if it enters your body.
The first mRNA vaccines using this technique were developed against the deadly Ebola virus, but if you take the fact that the Ebola virus is only found in a limited number of African countries, the incentive wasn't there to invest much time and attention to it. Do you now see why it is very essential for us to develop capacity as a continent?
The advent of COVID meant that governments and companies now had a huge incentive to pump lots of money into mRNA vaccine development. But the technology was already ready. It had been tried and tested on a small scale.
Thanks to decades of research and innovation, mRNA vaccine technology was ready by the time COVID came. Thankfully too, this technology has proven to be extremely safe and effective.
Making the argument that the vaccine is not effective because was developed too soon means ignoring the research and effort that has been put into this technology since the 1970s. But even if you are critical of the mRNA vaccines, the johnson and johnson vaccines were developed using the traditional methodologies we have been used to.
This is a brilliant step in innovation and I am against the notion that anyone should be punished for being a generational thinker. Humans have cracked a code in the fight against and prevention of diseases.
If the moon landing was a mark of human ingenuity, then imagine what this breakthrough is. It's stunning, breathtaking science.
I honestly don't get the arguments against the vaccine. It seems like the people arguing against the vaccine aren't ready to listen to the answers to the questions they are asking. And they're making arguments with emotions and extreme doomsday scenarios.
Of course, the vaccine is made by humans. Of course, the vaccine will not be perfect. Of course, there would be risks. It's our responsibility to manage and reduce those risks, instead of rubbishing years of research that has produced results!
Sadly, people aren't moved by facts, they're moved by emotions.
Whoever wins this information/misinformation battle is whoever is able to reach the hearts and emotions of people. Unfortunately, scientists aren't good at connecting what they know to others at the emotional level.
Scientists are communicating with "the vaccine has a 95% efficacy rate", while the naysayers are selling a message of "the vaccine would kill you". Of the two messages, which connects to the hearts and core of people? Your guess is as good as mine.
Unfortunately, people don't even know what an efficacy rate is. People don't even hear the 95% efficacy rate. All they hear is that the vaccine has a 5% chance of not working.
Naysayers use diluted facts to prove their stance. And it's easy to prove that something can kill than prove that it can save. For example, I can easily come up with how water can kill you, but it's hard to come up with how water can actually save you.
The onus now lies us, on the scientists of the future to communicate our facts clearly and connect them to the emotions of people. And as for you, the onus lies on you to read wide, verify information, and read from both sides of the story.
