Difference between revisions of "2404: First Thing"

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Revision as of 03:28, 29 December 2020

First Thing
Then I'm going to go on a weeks-long somatic hypermutation bender, producing ever-more targeted antibodies, while I continue to remain distanced and follow guidance from public health authorities.
Title text: Then I'm going to go on a weeks-long somatic hypermutation bender, producing ever-more targeted antibodies, while I continue to remain distanced and follow guidance from public health authorities.

Explanation

Ambox notice.png This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a SPIKED PROTEIN. Needs a better explanation of the science and the title text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.
If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

This comic, somewhat like 2402: Into My Veins, references both the COVID-19 vaccine and a common Internet trend.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most consequential and broadly unpleasant events in living memory. As of the publication of this strip, it is estimated to have caused over 1.5 million deaths worldwide, with over 300,000 deaths in the United States, with many more cases that have not resulted in fatality but far too often needing serious medical support and/or with lasting implications. Even for those who have been spared infection, measures to slow the spread of the virus have been highly impactful, and have been ongoing for nearly a year.

In consequence of all of this, many people are excited for the vaccine (which will hopefully end the pandemic). Many people online have been sharing plans for what they'll do after getting the vaccine, like "see my friends" or "travel the world." In this comic, Ponytail takes the trend literally, listing instead what will happen in her body immediately after getting the vaccine.

Transcript

[Ponytail and Cueball are walking toward the right side of a single panel. Ponytail is gesturing with one arm.]
Ponytail: The first thing I'm going to do after I get the vaccine?
Ponytail: Definitely make a bunch of spike proteins and engulf them with dendritic cells.
Ponytail: Then I'll probably display the antigens to my T-cells...


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Discussion

Note that Ponytail expects to get one of the mRNA or viral-carrier DNA vaccines, e. g. the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or Sputnik 5. Her description would not make sense if she receives the Novavax vaccine (NVX-CoV2373), which contains spike proteins and does not recruit the patient's cells to make them. 162.158.78.12 04:14, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

for a more detailed explanation of the differences between vaccines read this article: https://qz.com/1950365/what-is-the-novavax-vaccine-and-how-does-it-work/ 162.158.62.221 05:07, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

How quickly does the immune system start responding to the vaccine? Maybe the actual first thing she'll do is produce a flood of neurotransmitters that represent happiness and relief. Barmar (talk) 05:20, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

In the immediate post-Christmas TV adverts (here in the UK) it was notable that there were many suggesting people book foreign holidays(/vacations), clearly the surviving bits of the hard-hit travel-sector desperately trying to get summer (or earlier?) bookings and deposits to kick-start their return to normal. One ad (eventually, after a day of such saturation) started with "Hooray, the vaccine is here!" before 'seemlessly' flipping to reveal its main message of huge discounts on flights or whatever it was... Whether people are practically thinking of it as 'jab and go' (doubtless many are), firms are certainly relying upon them to do so. (Without even outwardly adressing the fallout from Brexit which will add a little extra frisson of uncertainty to much of the business model.) Such fun(!) to watch unfold... 162.158.159.50 13:55, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

On one hand, summer holiday is far enough for people not just getting vaccinated but also starting generating antibodies, yet not so far to not make sense to start ordering them. On the other, I suspect the travel-sector is desperate and there will likely be bankrupts, so they might really prefer people being irresponsible ... -- Hkmaly (talk) 00:16, 30 December 2020 (UTC)
The initial priorities set down for UK vaccinations are skewed towards the older age groups and others with health vulnerabilities (mixing in carers and healthcare professionals) where the ninth/least priority level is "all those 50 years of age and over" (...not already included earlier) and is aimed reducing the risks of the top 99% of the mortality-susceptible as quickly as possible. The archetypal "18-30" group (except those healthcarers at priorities 1&2 and ones with underlying conditions that put them in group #6, minorities and neither likely to be big spenders on foreign travel) and most members of any family setting off for sun/sea/beach will have to wait until after this comprehensive first set of phases are (effectively) complete to get in on the bonus. This could be as early as springtime if it all goes well, but easily could be so disorganised as to be up to half a year later than that. 141.101.99.63 02:59, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

I think the explanation about maintaining other mitigation measures misses an important point: some (perhaps all) vaccines have not yet been shown to reduce transmission, as the primary outcome of studies was to reduce the COVID19 disease (symptoms), and was not to reduce either infection or transmission. In other words, the vaccine will help me from getting sick, but won't prevent me from being infected or passing it on. (https://theconversation.com/a-covid-19-vaccine-that-prevents-both-the-disease-and-viral-transmission-is-the-aim-until-then-heres-what-we-need-to-do-151839) Jezzaaaa (talk) 03:52, 8 January 2021 (UTC)