How does the vaccine protect me?

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Abstract

would take some time to mobilize the army and defense might be a bit slow. A few civilians would be killed, and the economy would suffer. It would take time to recover. If the army was not in a good state in the first place, then because they were not ready the country could be overrun and taken over. That is akin to the immune system when the enemy is not known. It takes time for the “killer cells” to be mobilized and to kill the virus or bacteria that is attacking our body. Therefore, we can become very ill and even die.I am vaccinated but I still can get Covid — how come?The army of Beany land has been warned of a potential enemy, they even know what the enemy looks like. This warning has come in an electronic message format with information on how to identify the enemy. The army is ready and deployed to the borders. The air force and other defense systems are primed. If the enemy attacks now the army will attack back and push the enemy away before it can do much damage. But they do not attack unless they are attacked! Therefore, they have to “meet” the enemy. Thus, your immune system has the information to kill the virus and is ready for an attack. But to attack, it must be invaded. So, you meet someone who has the virus and a few of them get into your system. Immediately the antibodies react and call the rest of the immune system for help. And in normal circumstances, your immune system will deal with the invaders even before you are aware that you have had a brush with the virus. Sometimes you may feel ill for a

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while but nowhere near to how ill you would have been had your immune system (your army) not been ready for the attack. Of course, there are people whose immune system doesn’t work properly — like there are armies that do not listen to the people in charge.Why does the vaccine wane?If there is no immediate attack, it would be expensive to keep the army mobilized all the time. The army withdraws but there is a memory now of the enemy, and unless the enemy doesn’t show for a very long time that memory — that information — remains. And when an attack comes the army is mobilized quickly, but not as fast as if they were still attack-ready at the borders. And sometimes it is good to remind the generals, the army that there is an enemy and how to recognize it. Especially, if the enemy changes its appearance. New information is always good to be ready. That is what boosters are and also new vaccines are primed for the variants. Nearly all illnesses need a booster not only Covid, for example, but a shot for tetanus should also be given every 9 years.I hope this explains some of the questions that I get asked a lot. Keep safe and healthy.(1) Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Cameron Appel, Charlie Giattino, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Joe Hasell, Bobbie Macdonald, Diana Beltekian and Max Roser (2020) — “Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus' [Online Resource]</article></body>

A small piece to explain a bit how vaccination works.

A graph showing for 1 country cases, death and vaccination. You can see that when vaccination increased the cases went down until Omicron happened but more importantly the number of death decreased significantly. Data from (1)

I wasn’t going to write about SARS-Cov2 or Covid at all…but I have spent the last few months explaining some parts of immunity, vaccination, and the effects to so many people that I thought — now with the advancement of the Omicron variant — I will try and put onto paper how I try and explain this face to face.

Before I start let me say that the whole immune system is incredibly complicated and we (i.e. the scientists) do not know everything yet in how it works and how many cells, molecules, and proteins are involved. But we do know quite a bit, but I am going to simplify it here and I am going to compare the immune system to an army.

How will a vaccine help me?

When things are going well between countries and everyone is happy, and there doesn’t seem to be a war brewing somewhere, what does the army of Beany land do? They do a bit of exercise, play war games, and relax. A few are on the lookout for anything unusual but in a relaxed state. If someone would unexpectedly attack at that point it would take some time to mobilize the army and defense might be a bit slow. A few civilians would be killed, and the economy would suffer. It would take time to recover. If the army was not in a good state in the first place, then because they were not ready the country could be overrun and taken over. That is akin to the immune system when the enemy is not known. It takes time for the “killer cells” to be mobilized and to kill the virus or bacteria that is attacking our body. Therefore, we can become very ill and even die.

I am vaccinated but I still can get Covid — how come?

The army of Beany land has been warned of a potential enemy, they even know what the enemy looks like. This warning has come in an electronic message format with information on how to identify the enemy. The army is ready and deployed to the borders. The air force and other defense systems are primed. If the enemy attacks now the army will attack back and push the enemy away before it can do much damage. But they do not attack unless they are attacked! Therefore, they have to “meet” the enemy. Thus, your immune system has the information to kill the virus and is ready for an attack. But to attack, it must be invaded. So, you meet someone who has the virus and a few of them get into your system. Immediately the antibodies react and call the rest of the immune system for help. And in normal circumstances, your immune system will deal with the invaders even before you are aware that you have had a brush with the virus. Sometimes you may feel ill for a while but nowhere near to how ill you would have been had your immune system (your army) not been ready for the attack. Of course, there are people whose immune system doesn’t work properly — like there are armies that do not listen to the people in charge.

Why does the vaccine wane?

If there is no immediate attack, it would be expensive to keep the army mobilized all the time. The army withdraws but there is a memory now of the enemy, and unless the enemy doesn’t show for a very long time that memory — that information — remains. And when an attack comes the army is mobilized quickly, but not as fast as if they were still attack-ready at the borders. And sometimes it is good to remind the generals, the army that there is an enemy and how to recognize it. Especially, if the enemy changes its appearance. New information is always good to be ready. That is what boosters are and also new vaccines are primed for the variants. Nearly all illnesses need a booster not only Covid, for example, but a shot for tetanus should also be given every 9 years.

I hope this explains some of the questions that I get asked a lot. Keep safe and healthy.

(1) Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Cameron Appel, Charlie Giattino, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Joe Hasell, Bobbie Macdonald, Diana Beltekian and Max Roser (2020) — “Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus' [Online Resource]