January 21, 2022
Anniversaries
Some anniversaries deserve celebration, other don’t. Today marks 2 years when the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the US, just 25 miles from where I sit. Such a small event but with warning signs. Within 6 weeks, Seattle was shut down, flattening our curve with our lives veering into unexpected directions. So much was unknowable then. The science changed often during this time, which was hard for so many people who just wanted a simple, unchangeable answer.
We have learned so much from the beginning, but still not enough. Luckily, the structure of the virus was shared internationally by China to scientists who designed the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines quickly. Existing research networks for HIV trials were used to quickly set up clinical trials to test the vaccines within weeks, not months. Tens of thousands of people volunteered to test the jabs. Amazing, when you consider the usual time line for new vaccines; taking at least 10 years, often longer. Some diseases like Malaria, Tuberculosis, and HIV are still without effective vaccines.
Since this was a novel virus that no human was immune to, we were all vulnerable. Similar to the way indigenous people were susceptible to the diseases brought to the Americas and other places. These epidemics of small pox, measles, and other diseases left villages empty and tribes struggling to maintain. Even today, people die from vaccine preventable diseases, sometimes because they have no access, or they decline, or they don’t know their risks, such as the 5 people who died from rabies last year.
Fortunately, the vaccines for COVID-19 have worked remarkably well, preventing at least 240,000 deaths, a peer reviewed study published in JAMA found. Now we all are getting our booster shots to protect us from Omicron. The CDC has 3 studies that show the boosters are protective with Omicron, including keeping older adults out of the hospital. Good news for many of us. The vaccines also work to prevent teens from being hospitalized with COVID-19. Other data shows that breakthrough infections are mild in vaccinated people and that receiving 2 vaccinations helps prevent long COVID. And not surprisingly, new studies show the vaccines do not cause infertility but a COVD infection may decrease fertility.
All of these things reassure me, especially about preventing long COVID. We have faced much during the last two years. Our lives are forever changed. I am so grateful for the community of scientists and health care providers that helped guide us through this era, when things were so uncertain.
Wash your hands, cover your nose with a KN95 or N95, and make sure you are boosted.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/case-of-wuhan-coronavirus-detected-in-washington-state-first-in-united-states/
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washington-confirmed-the-countrys-first-covid-patient-2-years-ago-what-have-we-learned/
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/halting-progress-and-happy-accidents-how-mrna-vaccines-were-made/
https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F89b64c2c-2f41-4af3-8ea6-7609e68bb3dc_3093x2398.png
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-first-epidemics-how-disease-ravaged-indigenous-northwest-peoples/
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/five-people-in-u-s-died-from-rabies-in-2021-the-most-in-a-decade/
https://www.sciencealert.com/covid-19-vaccines-saved-more-than-240-000-lives-in-the-us-says-study
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/booster-shots-needed-against-omicron-cdc-studies-show/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/health/cdc-covid-booster-omicron.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/01/20/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests/booster-shots-are-keeping-older-americans-out-of-the-hospital-new-cdc-data-suggest
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/96627 adolescents
https://www.mdlinx.com/news/breakthrough-covid-cases-overwhelmingly-mild-for-vaccinated-people-study/l4xxMzkgNOGewabRnBwCI
https://www.mdlinx.com/news/study-suggests-that-two-doses-of-covid-19-vaccine-may-protect-against-long-covid/7Hqle9NQZ2mLkSpEXSbO8m
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220120135142.htm