LET'S TALK ABOUT VACCINATIONS

I want to tell you my vaccination story and then I want to talk about the available vaccines. I’m doing this because I’ve been seeing an awful lot of ‘nopes’ to getting vaccinated and those ‘nopes’ are always attached to pseudo science articles that are misinformative and dangerous. I’m hoping that by the end of this entry some people will make a more informed choice. I received my second dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine on Wednesday. By this time I had heard from a number of people who had received the second dose and they had all of the predicted reactions to that dose. So I was mentally prepared to feel a little crappy the next day. Except it turned out to be more than a little crappy and it lasted for two days with the third day leaving me newborn-kitten-weak. I’m not going to lie. It was awful. But it was awful because I have a strong and healthy immune system. My immune cells were like a million angry Scotts in dirty kilts running across the highlands with swords raised as they yelled their way into battle. My reaction was a common reaction that is being seen in healthy people of a certain age and particularly in women who are generally producing more antibodies on a daily basis.

Last week the U.S. paused the use of the J&J vaccine because of a blood clotting side effect. Six women out of the seven million people who have received this vaccine in the US has experienced this symptom. One of these women died from it. The blood-clotting disorder has been seen in women between 18 and 48 years of age and even though it is severe, it is very rare. The FDA and the CDC reacted swiftly to the pause of this vaccine. It should be noted that the J&J vaccine is not using the same technology as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. It is made by genetically modifying a virus vector, which is a method that has been used since the 70s to create vaccines. This thing with J&J vaccine should not keep you from getting vaccinated. For some perspective, your chances of dying in a car crash is 1 in 103. Your chances of dying from gun violence is 1 and 315. One out of seven people will die of cancer this year. All of the scientific data for the clinical trials and the review process for all of the vaccines are available on the CDC website. You can read the one for Moderna here: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm695152e1.htm?s_cid=mm695152e1_w . The one for Pfizer can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6950e2.htm?s_cid=mm6950e2_w . I left them here as ugly links so that you can’t miss them.

The US saw over 60,000 new cases of COVID last week. There are a number of factors at play here. First, is the new variant of COVID that is more virulent. Second is the lack of vaccinations. We are seeing the highest numbers of cases in areas of the country where people are refusing vaccinations. These are also areas where restrictions on social distancing and mandated mask wearing has been lifted. I am going to give you a scenario. You are at a party with ten friends/family. None of you are vaccinated. None of you have been social distancing. You just happen to be carrying the COVID virus, but don’t know it because you feel fine, maybe just a sniffle. None of you are wearing masks and the party is inside. Out of the ten people at the party, four people contract the virus. One person has a mild case. Another person has long term symptoms. Two of those people die from complications due to COVID. If you still think this party, the party where you are responsible for the death of two of your friends/family, is worth the risk then continue to not wear a mask or social distance and opt out of getting vaccinated. That possibility of being responsible for the death of another person made my choice to get vaccinated real easy.

Here’s the deal. We are never going back to ‘normal’. Masks and a little bit of distance is going to be the trend for a long time. When mask mandates lift, I suspect that I will still wear a mask, particularly if I have a cold or the sniffles. I will continue to stay patient and keep my distance in grocery stores and I don’t really see myself ever being comfortable in large crowds. I was never really comfortable in large crowds before the pandemic. The thing from my old normal that does get to happen now is that I can hug my friends. I can travel without quartining for ten days to go back to work. It is an adjusted life that is better than it what it was this time last year.

Discuss your health concerns and getting the vaccine with your Primary Care Physician. Your PCP will guide you in helping you make a choice that is right for you based off correct information.

MASK IT UP

I am seeing some pretty dangerous and disturbing misinformation floating around. Ha! Wait….I’ve been seeing this for ages. I don’t know if you know how frustrating it is to be a scientist and then see people you know and love post some snake oil remedy in the name of ‘science’ or support sharing blatant misinformation about masks and vaccines. It seriously at times makes my eye twitch. I’ve been trying to ignore it, but I have family members who could very well die if they contract COVID. So here’s my Public Safety Announcement for today.

Today we are talking about masks.

This page on the CDC’s website about masks and types of masks is the most informative resource on types of masks and effectiveness. Recently, Dr. Fauci recently said in an interview that doubling up on masks was an even more effective way to prevent the spread of the virus. I am going to straight up tell you that in the beginning of this pandemic, the government fucked up with the whole should we or should we not wear a mask situation. They were not clear in the beginning and then when the science was clear, we lacked leadership in an administration to enforce wearing masks. If you carefully read the CDC mask guidelines, you will see that not all masks are created equal. Most of the masks that we have been wearing are the kind that will keep you from passing the virus to someone else. Surgical masks and M95 masks filter air both ways, protecting you from getting it and protecting others from you. The problem with this is that the demand for surgical and M95 masks is super high because these masks are reserved for medical staff. Medical staff who are currently overwhelmed with COVID patients. So, doubling up on masks is better than taking a mask away from an ICU nurse. I will gladly wear two masks if this means that my friends like Stephanie and Traci will have the masks (and other ppe) they need while doing their jobs of delivering babies and fixing broken people.

Something else I want you to notice from that CDC link is near the bottom of the page, under the header of “Recent Studies”. That is a continually growing list of peer reviewed scientific papers on studies performed around the effectiveness of masks. I say ‘continually growing’ because science is not stagnant. We are making new discoveries every day and we must adapt our guidelines to meet those discoveries. Something that has not changed is that you can be asymptomatic and still be carrying the COVID virus. That means you can pass that virus on to someone else. When I see people disregarding the science behind the reasons for wearing a mask, I see a person who doesn’t care about the people around them. I see a person so self centered that they don’t care that they are putting the lives of their own family and friends in jeopardy. The newest variant of the COVID virus is 30-70% more contagious than the original strain. Containing the spread of the virus is crucial and simple.

Wear an appropriate mask.

Social distance.

Wash your hands.

VIROLOGY 101

I have been asked some questions recently about the COVID vaccine and the flu and the possibility of creating mutant humans because of a vaccine that alters DNA. Not really so much on the last part, but there are people who have been misinformed on how the COVID vaccine works. I’ve answered these questions on a one-on-on basis enough times now that I thought maybe it would be a good idea to share some science here.

First of all, let’s talk about how COVID-19 is different from the flu. Both viruses have similar symptoms. They both contain RNA encapsulated in a nucleoprotein with an outer coating of other proteins. Here come the difference. Influenza contains eight, single stranded negative sense RNA segments. This virus relies on a collaboration between two of its surface proteins, haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). HA binds the virus to cells and mediates viral entry. Once inside the cell, the virus starts replicating and making more virus particles. NA causes HA to release from the cell surface, which allows the progeny viruses to exit the cell and go wreck more havoc. Those surface proteins on the influenza virus are the reason why you get a flu shot every year. In influenza A that causes seasonal flu there are eighteen possible subtypes of HA and eleven subtypes of NA. That means there are 198 combinations possible. That is just for Influenza A. Influenza B is also a player in seasonal flu outbreaks. There are four known influenza strains each with multiple subtypes.

COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 has a single strand of non-segmented positive sense RNA and one main surface protein called Spike, that attaches the virus to the cell surface. When the virus binds, it injects its RNA and uses the host cell to replicate its genome. Then, new virus particles are released from the infected cell. When COVID-19 emerged in 2019, it was a brand new virus with no available treatments or immunity. That is why it has been so easy to spread. There has been concern from people over the speed at which the vaccine for COVID-19 has been made and released. Vaccine development has been a huge collaborative effort and it had to meet the rigorous scientific and regulatory processes put in place by the FDA, the same processes that any drug or vaccine has to meet in order to be released to the public. I have also heard some concern that the vaccine alters your DNA. That is not true. The vaccine targets the cells involved in immunity. Once inside the cell, it relies on that cell’s protein making machinery to create a protein that recognizes the Spike protein on the COVID-19 surface. All of that stuff happens in the cytoplasm. The vaccine does not enter the nucleus where your DNA is stored and it does not have the enzymes that would allow it to incorporate into DNA.

So…would I get this vaccine? Yes. I cannot roll up my sleeve fast enough. As soon as I am eligible, I am getting this shot and then going back and getting the second round of the shot. Our plan is to have a big vaccination party where your ticket in to the party is your vaccination card. Then I am going to hug all of the people. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate is your choice. It is important that you know the consequences of whatever choice you decide to make. The FDA website has a whole list of answers to some frequently asked questions regarding the vaccine. The CDC is also a great place to go for information on the virus and the vaccine.

At the very least, you should get vaccinated so you can come to my party.

ECLIPSE 2017

Taken with the Nikon

23 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Taken with the Nikon"

I am not even sure where to start this story. Talaura and her family had been planning this trip for well over a year with hotel bookings and finding an event viewing area. I started making plans with Talaura about her trip to KCMO and me tagging along with her and her family, way back before the new year. We had prepared for everything. We had sunscreen. We had water. We had camp chairs. We had snacks. Most importantly, we had our protective eyewear. We were prepared, but the one thing we could not prepare for was the weather. Weather is not easy to predict or plan for. I was looking at weather maps the week before. At that time, the weather in St. Joseph, the place we had planned for, did not look good, but two hours to the north west looked okay. We put Nebraska on our Plan B list. 

Monday morning, we got up early and glued ourselves to the news. Partial clouds. Possible thunderstorms. Poor visibility in Nebraska. Plan B was out. The local weather guy said that Marshal MO looked like the best viewing area for the eclipse. We kept this in mind as we loaded up our vehicles and headed out to the Rosecrans Memorial Airport. We spent an hour at the airport before deciding to head east. Talaura and I looked at the sky and both agreed that locking ourselves down in one spot with clouds moving in was not going to work. We convinced the others to load back up and head east. Then we hit rain. Heavy, heavy rain. Just when we thought we might be driving out of the worst of it, the rain would pick up and skies would get darker. Talaura and I spent the whole time frantic with worry that we had ruined this whole thing for everyone. We finally decided to turn around and just head for any glimpse of clear skies. 

Then we found it. A place in the clouds had opened up around the sun. We pulled over to the side of the road along with a few other cars and hoped out with our eclipse glasses on. The clouds broke open long enough for us to watch the partial eclipse move into totality and then we basked in that minute of darkness. Everyone cheered. We listed to the crickets. We felt the chill of the night time air. I snapped pictures and as I got a glance of some of the images I was getting, I was so excited and moved to tears. It was absolutely awe inspiring. I stopped taking pictures after totality and just watched. Then, it was over. The sun came out from behind the moon and the clouds moved back in along with more rain. The whole experience was the tallest emotional roller coaster that I've ridden in a very long time.

I am still a little stunned at our luck. If we had stayed put at the airport in St. Joseph, we would have missed the whole thing because of rain. If we had continued to head towards Marshal, we would have missed the whole thing because of rain. Yet, by some act of universal intervention or even a miracle, we were able to witness this unforgettable event. It was like the clouds parted just for us. 

TRUTH OR DARE

Lonely microscope

4 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Lonely microscope"

NPR aired a story on March 15th about how Monsanto recruited scientists to co-author papers that defend the safety of glyphosate. Glyphosate is a chemical compound found in such weed killers as Roundup and Rodeo. Monsanto is the company that make genetically modified seeds that are resistant to weed killers like Roundup. So farmers can spray their crops with weed killer without killing their crop. The problem is that weeds also start to get more tolerant of the weed killer and then farmers have to use higher concentrations of weed killer to stop the weeds. Turns out that glyphosate probably causes cancer, along with some other commonly used pesticide chemicals and insecticide chemicals. 

Some of you are probably shrugging your shoulders and thinking "so what, everything causes cancer." That's almost true. Cancer has been a problem since the beginning of multicellular organism existence on this planet, but if you can avoid something that may specifically give you cancer, you should probably do so. Also, in Monsanto's case, they are selling a product that they have promoted as being safe and it actually may not be safe. This story leads to a bigger problem though and that's one of scientific trust. Corporations paying scientists for research skewed in their favor is not new. In the 60s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the role of sugar in human health. Scientific papers are retracted all the time. Up until recently, most of those retraction were due to other scientific discoveries that disproved the findings of that paper. Recently though, we've seen a lot of retractions due to fraud and with the U.S. being the most guilty of fraud related retractions. This comes from a review published in 2012 regarding 2,047 life-science and biomedical research papers retracted that year.

That is not only embarrassing but incredibly dangerous. There's no wonder that people in general have a mistrust of scientific information. But what that paper doesn't say is that there were over 28 million papers submitted and published between 1980 and 2012 and of those 28 million, 2,047 were questionable in some way. Do not think that most scientists are out there trying to dupe you when it turns out to just be a couple of bad apples. This science business I'm in is very competitive. In 2013, there were about 40,000 postdocs (think interns) and about 4,000 of them had been so for six years or more. Getting your own lab and moving on in academia is hard and funding research is expensive. The National Institute of Health has about a 32 billion dollar budget that helps to fund more than 300,000 scientists. Divide 32 billion by 300,000. It doesn't leave you with much for lab supplies, consumables and research technicians. Forget about buying any expensive equipment or maintaining service contracts for those things. I am not condoning fraud in any way, but I can see how a scientist desperate for funding could find a way to tweak his/her findings to work in their favor. 

When you hear about a new scientific discovery on the news or read about it online, here's a few things you can look for that will give you some sort of an idea of the validity of the science:

1. First, check the news source. Is the information coming from a reliable news source? This infographic has been circling social media and is a good representation of reliable news sources for all news, not just science. 
2. Second, make sure the story is not an opinion piece. 
3. Third, check the article for links to the original source of information. The original source should be the actual journal article from a reputable scientific journal. 
4. Fourth, check the original article for funding information. All articles contain an acknowledgment section that includes how the research was funded. If they list a major corporation like Exon, I'm going to question their science and thoroughly read their paper as well as check their references and other research being done in this field.   

Bottom line though, when a researcher has to go to corporations for funding, their research is going to lean to the favor of the corporation. This happens more and more as government funding is cut from scientific research. You can help by encouraging your senators and representatives to support funding for scientific research. Making donations to non-for-profit charities like the AIDS Walk of Kansas City is another way to help. Above all, when you read those headlines that sound too good to be true, read the actual article and ask questions.

Question everything.