Dr. Fauci Says This is the Best Vaccine to Get
There are now three COVID-19 vaccines available, and with them, hope—and some FOMO. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is 95%, Moderna's is 94% and Johnson & Johnson's is 66%. Some people are scrambling to get the "best" one. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, comparing percentages is not what you need to be doing right now. Read on to hear about which COVID-19 vaccine he thinks you should get, and why—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.
Dr. Fauci Says Take the Vaccine That is Offered to You First
Dr. Fauci advises not to discriminate against any of the three vaccines. "I would recommend, get the first one you could get," he said to Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet. "If you go into a clinic and one vaccine is available now, and another one will be available in a month, I would go right for the one that's available now. Given the circulation of viruses in the community, you want to get protected as quickly and as expeditiously as you possibly can." Read on to hear about the differences between them.
The Vaccines Behave Differently in These Ways
Dr. Fauci can explain the difference between the three vaccines, revealing that the Pfizer and the Moderna, the first to become available to the public, are messenger RNA vaccines. "Messenger RNA is the genetic code that tells the body to make certain proteins," he explained. "So when you inject it into an individual, it codes for the spike protein on the virus, and the body sees that, thinks it's the virus, but it's not. It's just a protein of the virus. It makes a good immune response. And then when you get exposed to the actual virus, you're protected, that's the MRNA of Pfizer and Moderna." As for J & J: "The ultimate end game is you still make an immune response to the spike protein, but instead of injecting just the MRNA, you get a benign harmless cold virus called adenovirus. And you stick in that, the gene, the DNA of the spike protein, which then codes for RNA, which then codes for the protein."
All the Vaccines Achieve the Same Result
The bottom line? "At the end of the day, both of them are inducing a response to the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus, which we call SARS-COV2," Dr. Fauci continued. "So they're called different vaccine platforms. Both are very effective, highly effective, particularly against severe disease requiring hospitalization and sometimes leading to death."
Dr. Fauci Says He Would Take the J & J Vaccine
"I would definitely take the Johnson and Johnson vaccine," Dr. Fauci said in a PSA. "This is a vaccine that works and it only requires one dose. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine uses a particular what we call a vaccine platform and you inject it into the body. The body sees that protein makes a good immune response against the entire virus. The COVID vaccine doesn't give you COVID. The vaccine is just one protein from the virus that induces your body to make a good response against the whole virus. Well, it's not tested in the United States. It's 72% effective in preventing you from getting moderate to severe disease, but virtually a hundred percent protective against hospitalizations and death as proven by this trial."
Dr. Fauci Says What We Must Do Until We've Reached Herd Immunity
"When you pull back on things like masking and not paying attention to congregate settings, it is very risky to get another surge," he said on Fox News Sunday. "If you wait just a bit longer to give the vaccine program a chance to increase protection in the community, then it makes going back much less risky. But if you do it prematurely, there really is a danger of triggering another surge." So get vaccinated when it becomes available to you, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
