Vaccines are designed to protect you from a virus and the way that they succeed is by firing up the immune system. In this episode of SICK, we walk through how a vaccine prepares the body to fight off the COVID-19 virus and why it can cause some unpleasant side effects.
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Dr. Kennedy was socially distanced from masked off-camera participants in a non-patient care, non-public setting, and therefore in compliance with Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 safety guidelines while unmasked.
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Vaccines are designed to protect you from a virus and the way that they succeed is by getting the immune system all worked up.

But this is exactly what causes those unpleasant side effects that can knock you off your game for a day or two. So while the fatigue, headache and low-grade fever are no fun… they can actually be proof that the vaccine is doing its job… and doing it well.

Your immune system is actually already quite good at getting rid of viruses. But it isn’t all-knowing and when it encounters a new virus like the one that causes COVID-19, it needs to be taught some new tricks.

And the best way to do this is through a vaccine that tells your body what to do if it encounters the virus, essentially creating what’s called a memory response. But how exactly does a vaccine do this? Well, it might help to start with an understanding of how the immune response works.

#vaccines #covidvaccine #disease #health #seeker #science #sick

Read More:

Immune response in COVID-19: A review
This review presents a brief overview of the immune system regarding its protection of the human body from COVID-19; illustrates the process of the immune system, how it works, and its mechanism to fight virus; and presents information on the most recent COVID-19 treatments and experimental data.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

T Cell Memory: Understanding COVID-19
As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has progressed, increasing attention has focused on establishing natural and vaccine-induced immunity against this coronavirus and the disease, COVID-19, that it causes. In this Primer, we explain the fundamental features of T cell memory and their potential relevance for effective immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
https://www.cell.com/immunity/pdf/S10...

Innate immune recognition
The innate immune system is a universal and ancient form of host defense against infection. Innate immune recognition relies on a limited number of germline-encoded receptors. These receptors evolved to recognize conserved products of microbial metabolism produced by microbial pathogens, but not by the host.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11861...


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SICK is a series that looks at how diseases actually work inside our body. We'll be visiting medical centers and talking to top researchers and doctors to uncover the mysteries of viruses, bacteria, fungi and our own immune system.

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