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There is information circulating in the network that after receiving an mRNA vaccine (i.e. Pfizer or Moderna), the risk of the so-called a cytokine storm in the course of COVID-19. Is it really so? On the contrary. Coronavirus infection is possible after vaccination, but the risk is small. Moreover, the vaccinated person is protected against the severe course of the disease, and thus also against the cytokine storm.
- A cytokine storm is a fierce response from the immune system that resembles a septic shock
- Its occurrence is a direct threat to life and health – it can damage the tissues and organs of the patient
- There is information on the web that a cytokine storm may be triggered by mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. This is not true
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Cytokine storm – what is it?
The so-called A cytokine storm is a violent reaction of the immune system, which releases very high levels of pro-inflammatory substances, leading to an extensive inflammation resembling a septic shock. This condition is life threatening and can damage both tissues and organs. It happens that it occurs in a severe course of COVID-19.
Experts estimate that cytokine storm is the second leading cause of death from COVID-19 after extensive lung damage.
Do mRNA vaccines trigger a cytokine storm? Definitely not
There is a false and harmful “message” circulating on the web that mRNA vaccines genetically modify the body’s cells to produce the coronavirus spike protein, so that the immune system will react by a cytokine storm when it comes into contact with the coronavirus. This is bullshit.
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Prof. Joanna Zajkowska from the Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfection at the University Teaching Hospital in Białystok emphasizes: “mRNA does not genetically modify the cell”. There is no such possibility, because it does not work in the cell nucleus, it is generally unstable, it cannot penetrate our genome.
– Vaccine mRNA is a formula to produce a certain number of viral spike proteins (S protein – from the word ‘spike’ for ‘spike’, through which the coronavirus enters the host’s mucosa – ed.) And then disintegrates and proteins become the model for the production of antibodies and cytotoxic cells. After which they are also destroyed. Thanks to this, if after vaccination the coronavirus enters our body, it meets ready-made, “waiting” neutralizing antibodies, which – as the name suggests – neutralize the virus and prevent it from multiplying, and cytotoxic cells that kill the virus – explains the expert .
Let us recall once again: mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 provide human cells with instructions – in the form of an mRNA molecule – on how to produce the S protein (the so-called spike protein), one of the many viral proteins, which is crucial insofar as with its help, the virus is able to infect humans and lead to disease. This instruction reaches a very limited number of cells, especially muscle cells. After the production of the S protein, the mRNA molecule is degraded, does not replicate and does not disseminate in the body.
– Similarly, the produced protein does not have “self-replication” capacity, it does not create copies of itself after its initial production in the cell. In practice, the S protein produced by a small population of cells is displayed on their surface in order to train the immune system to produce specific antibodies and a cellular response. Eventually, the cells presenting the S protein are removed by the cells of the immune system. These processes are short-term and local, not systemic, adds Dr. Piotr Rzymski, a medical biologist from the Medical University of Poznań.
COVID-19 after vaccination? Mild sooner, if at all
Experts emphasize that there is no evidence that the administration of the COVID mRNA vaccine leads to the so-called a cytokine storm. Such a phenomenon has not been observed in clinical trials involving tens of thousands of participants, or now, when these vaccines have already been administered to millions of people.
On the contrary, the scientific evidence shows unequivocally that COVID-19 vaccines protect against severe infection, and the viral load is significantly lower in those who are vaccinated and still become infected. This is great news, as it indicates that vaccination most likely cuts the chains of infection. Following vaccination, no cytokine storm was observed in animal experiments, clinical trials and currently undergoing mass vaccination. In the case of authorized COVID-19 vaccines, the phenomenon of the so-called enhancement of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), which consists in the fact that some of the antibodies produced against the selected viruses, instead of fighting it, help it infect cells, which can also trigger a cytokine storm – emphasizes the specialist.
The effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. New study
Remember that every week there are more and more studies, both observational and randomized with a double-blind study, on the effectiveness of vaccines. One of the last ones was published in March this year in the journal “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report”, and it was prepared in Polish by the Medycyna Praktyczna portal. It concerned the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, primarily among US health care workers, emergency services or teachers, and therefore those who come into contact with many people and are particularly exposed to coronavirus infection. Only those people who had not had SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of qualification for the study, or in the past, were qualified. A total of almost 4 people from eight states were observed, of which 75 percent. of these had at least one dose of vaccine. The overwhelming majority of these were mRNA vaccines (almost 63% of those vaccinated were with the Pfizer vaccine, and almost 30% – with Moderna).
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All study participants – unvaccinated, vaccinated and partially vaccinated – were routinely tested with genetic testing every week and additionally in case of any symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Out of nearly 4 people, 2 were confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-205 during the three-month follow-up. CoV-1. Needless to say, the infection was not severe, so there was no question of a cytokine storm.
The authors of the study thus confirmed that mRNA vaccines protected participants very well against SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severe course of COVID-19 (and thus also a cytokine storm). Significant in this study was that the participants were those who are particularly at risk of ‘catching’ COVID-19. It is also worth remembering that people in Poland who have not been vaccinated with any vaccine against this disease are currently admitted to hospitals. Anything available on the market will allow us to avoid heavy COVID-19.
Monika Wysocka, as above, Zdrowie.pap.pl
Also read:
- You don’t have to disinfect everything? Experts change recommendations
- Experts: we will win with the pandemic if 60 percent. the population will wear masks and keep their distance
- Grzesiowski: «drive thru» vaccination points break safety rules. Vaccination is not fast food
- Will there be consequences for people not getting the COVID-19 vaccine?
- How many people in Poland died or had thrombosis after vaccination? New data
- Will it also be possible to mix COVID-19 vaccines in Poland? The Ministry of Health responds
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