At home: Is development too fast? Will I be sterile? Does it cause allergies? Gábor Kemenesi answered the most important questions about the Covid vaccine

Since new types of coronavirus vaccines were developed and manufactured (and even Hungarian healthcare workers have been vaccinated with the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines), there have been many misconceptions and misunderstandings about it. The most important of them was answered by the virologist Gábor Kemenesi in his latest video.

An employee of the János Szentágothai Research Center of the University of Pécs – who is also a member of the Coronavirus Research Action Group – put it this way, in recent weeks they have also received a lot of questions, some of which they have made “hold the head”.

1. How could the vaccine be made so quickly? Is it less reliable?

Gábor Kemenesi’s answer to the first question was that “this vaccine was not made quickly, but so far very slowly.” In the case of a coronavirus vaccine, it has been possible to shorten some of the necessary phases of cognition, such as experiments on laboratory animals, which examine which part of the virus is suitable for vaccine production.

“We are very fortunate to have already encountered other coronaviruses (SARS-1 and MERS), so a lot of knowledge has been collected. Many of the experimental results were ready and we managed to save years with development, ”he added.

In the next phases, which already involve people, a lot of money, time and energy traditionally goes to the bureaucracy, finding doctors, collecting subjects and, of course, money. In an epidemic of this magnitude, Kemenesi says, this is not a problem, everything is much oilier, as is the permitting process.

The researcher added that now comes clinical phase 4, that is, long-term follow-up, which has been the case for all other vaccines that have been used for a long time.

2. Does the vaccine cause infertility?

The misconception that has recently spread on the internet is that the vaccine also builds immunity against the syncycin protein in the placenta because it is very similar to the spike protein of the virus. Kemenesi responded briefly to this: “Quite not because they are completely different proteins.

3. Should I be afraid of allergic reactions?

The expert noted that so far 4 and a half million people worldwide have received the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and only a few have experienced an allergic reaction. This is the case for all other vaccines, but should be investigated.

Citing the figures, Kemenesi noted that in the United States, 600,000 people received the vaccine in one week, 1 of whom was hospitalized for an allergic reaction and later discharged. By comparison, in the same week, 120,000 people were hospitalized for the coronavirus disease, Covid-19, and 20,000 died.

The Pfizer vaccine does not contain substances (adjuvants) that are more likely to cause a stronger reaction in other vaccines. It contains an immunity-forming mRNA molecule that is packaged in lipids (fat molecules) due to its instability, as well as sugars, salts, and the like. Kemenesi believes that it is possible that allergic reactions are caused by lipids, but this needs to be investigated to be sure.

4. Why should pregnant women, baby planners, and those who overcome the infection within 3 months not get it?

To the second part of the question, Kemenesi said that since there are few vaccines available so far, it would be a waste to give them to those who have recently contracted the infection, as they have natural protection for about 3 months.

They are not administered to mothers at the moment because specific and exhaustive studies have not been carried out on them. So this does not mean that the vaccine is harmful to them, but rather that the issue has not yet been scientifically studied. (Pfizer and Moderna have already started investigations.)

5. Can a person who has been vaccinated transmit the infection?

So far, clinical trials have looked at whether the vaccine protects against illness and hospitalizations. The answer to this is a clear yes – said Gábor Kemenesi.

Studies have not yet looked at whether those vaccinated can become asymptomatic and can transmit the virus. This will be counted by Phase 4 and epidemiological observation, he added. But even if it were, that is, the vaccinated could infect asymptomatically, the vaccine would still provide protection so that the vaccinated do not get sick and are not hospitalized, which is a great thing and will eliminate the poison of the epidemic.

In this case, the vaccination strategy will have to be adapted accordingly, that is, people at risk will have to be vaccinated, but we will soon get an answer to this question. (A Pfizer medical director said at a news conference Monday on the subject, however, that while the term of protection is questionable, it is certain that the person who has developed protection cannot infect others.)

The full video can be seen here: