COVID-19 Vaccine Research
One year after cancelling summer plans, readjusting work environments, and implementing social distancing precautions in every public setting, COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are rapidly increasing vaccine production. The United States is witnessing the circulation of multiple vaccines at the moment, as well as the development of other potential emergency use doses from other manufacturers.
Pfizer Vaccine Research
The Pfizer vaccine was the first vaccine on the market on December 11, 2020. Pfizer put out the Comirnaty vaccine that requires 2 doses that are received 3 weeks apart. Pfizer’s vaccine utilizes a genetic model by building a messenger RNA (mRNA) strand that is injected into the body. mRNA are strands of instructions that the body uses to build proteins, and once the COVID-19 mRNA is injected, ribosomes use the code in the mRNA to build the coronavirus spike protein that would prompt our immune system to respond to the actual virus. This vaccine is basically a miniature instruction packet for our immune system. Now that Pfizer’s vaccine has been readily available to the general public over the past few months, production has increased since they have adjusted to using certain materials, scaling up production lines, and overall an increase in experience of administering the vaccine. Pfizer recently signed an agreement to supply the European Union with a total of 500 million doses by the end of 2021. The Biden Administration also purchased 200 million Moderna and Pfizer vaccines on February 12, increasing the United States’ total purchase to 600 million vaccines, enough for 300 million people. With these large purchases, it is important to consider the risk of any side effects or adverse reactions. The CDC recognizes that there were no significant injuries that indicated a causal relationship between the vaccine administration and the injury. The CDC noted that the potential for any serious adverse events translated to about 0.6% of the vaccine group reporting a serious injury, compared to the 0.5% of serious injuries reported in the placebo group. Within these small percentages, the most serious side effects were appendicitis (7 cases in vaccine population compared to 2 in placebo), acute myocardial infarction (3 compared to 0), and cerebrovascular accident (3 compared to 1); additionally, the only two serious events considered by the FDA were shoulder injuries and lymphadenopathy within the vaccine population. After considering the rates of these effects, the CDC holds that there is no causal connection at this point between the Pfizer vaccine and these serious injuries.
Modern Vaccine Research
Moderna accompanies Pfizer as one of the earliest vaccines to receive emergency use authorization. Moderna was approved on December 18, 2020, and this vaccine consists of the mRNA-1273 vaccine that is given in 2 doses 4 weeks apart. Moderna’s vaccine utilizes the same technology as the Pfizer vaccine, such that it uses an mRNA vaccine to trigger the immune system to fight off the COVID-19 virus by instructing the body to create proteins. Neither the Moderna nor the Pfizer vaccine change the DNA of the individual receiving the vaccine. Moderna is conducting research currently about different variants of the COVID-19 virus. At the beginning of 2021, Moderna signaled an increase in production by raising their COVID-19 vaccine production estimate to at least 600 million doses by the end of the year. Moderna expects to have about 100 million doses available for use in the United States by the end of March. Similar to Pfizer, there are no serious side effects linked to the Moderna vaccine. There was one incident in California in January of 2021 in which several individuals at one vaccination center were treated for possible allergic reactions, but after several specialists examined the evidence, they found that there was no link between the allergic reactions and the vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Research
The third major vaccine produced in the United States is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that was authorized on February 27, 2021. While arriving to the market later than Pfizer and Moderna, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine presents a different approach, administering the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine in a singular dose. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a different technology that implants the coronavirus DNA into a modified adenovirus, a common virus that causes the common cold and flu symptoms, that allows for the DNA to enter the cell and code for spike proteins. While this technology enters the cell differently and utilizes double-stranded DNA instead of single-stranded mRNA, it still provokes the same response from the affected cells. Merck has partnered with Johnson & Johnson to increase the vaccine production, and as of March 11, 2021, the United States has ordered 200 million Johnson & Johnson doses, half of which are expected to be ready by late 2021. On April 14, 2021, the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine was paused in the United States after six reported cases of blood clots occurring after vaccination. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48 and their symptoms began within two weeks of vaccination.
Other Covid-19 Vaccines (AstraZeneca)
Aside from the three vaccines approved for emergency use authorization, there are other vaccines that are looking to enter the market but have not passed certain trial phases that would signify that they are safe for use in the United States yet. AstraZeneca, working alongside Oxford University, has been widely looked at for their viral vector vaccine that works in a similar method to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. AstraZeneca has been approved in Brazil and approved for emergency use authorization in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and many other countries. The AstraZeneca vaccine has made a name for itself as maybe the most controversial vaccine, seeing that a few countries actually pulled the vaccine off of the list when there was a rising concern about the vaccine’s link to blood clots. Additionally, AstraZeneca was just recently busted for presenting outdated information within the latest data regarding their recent vaccine trials, as Dr. Anthony Fauci expresses some hesitancy about the vaccine now that this news has been brought to light. Especially with the AstraZeneca vaccine being one of the most dominant vaccines in the world right now, the doubts about its legitimacy present some substantial questions that the United States will consider before authorizing the vaccine for emergency use. Especially with the link to blood clots earlier in March, these side effects must be investigated further before the widespread use of the vaccine.
Government Vaccine Injury Program
Within these conversations regarding the government’s involvement in protecting the general population from these diseases, many have looked into the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), a program that is run under the Department of Health and Human Services. The CICP is designed to provide benefits to individuals who have suffered from a serious injury from certain countermeasures. A countermeasure is a vaccination, medication, or other preventative method designed to protect the population from a declared pandemic or security threat. This program is different from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) such that the VICP covers routinely administered vaccinations whereas the CICP protects countermeasures to national threats. Since the program began in 2010, the CICP has received 551 claim filings, and only 29 received compensation. The compensation received for these claims surmounts to $6 million. Right now, the COVID-19 pandemic is considered a covered countermeasure in this program.
Injuries Resulting from Vaccines
Given the prior medical research linking vaccines to specific rare autoimmune diseases, the following injuries, diseases, or adverse events warrant further investigation into whether the covid vaccine was the cause of the adverse event:
Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)
Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)
Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)
Shoulder Injuries (adhesive capsulitis/frozen shoulder, rotator cuff injury, bursitis, shoulder impingement, etc.)
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
Transverse myelitis (TM)
The science relating to injuries from the covid is still evolving so it is worthwhile to investigate any severe and catastrophic injuries that have occurred within 30 days of receiving one of the vaccine doses.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/reactogenicity.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-raises-covid-19-vaccine-production-estimate-11609861657
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-results-incomplete-view-outdated/
https://www.hrsa.gov/cicp ; https://www.hrsa.gov/cicp/cicp-data
Licensed Vaccine Attorney
If you or a loved one has been injured by a vaccine, please contact our attorneys immediately for a free consultation at 215 462 3330 or by using our online contact form.
