Hey, people!
I’ve been getting a boat load of questions about the Covid-19 vaccines. As with all things Covid related, unfortunately, there seems to be lots of bogus misinformation.
I have created this post to look at the actual facts regarding the vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna.
It’s been really interesting to watch how many practitioners and thought leaders in the alternative medicine realm and others in the “New Age” community have aligned themselves with conspiracy theories and outright nonsense regarding the pandemic.
The very same things that are being pushed by the alt-right. It’s an odd and dangerous marriage of right and left wing “conspirituality” that has resulted, in my opinion, in the US becoming the epicenter of an out of control pandemic.
It didn’t have to be this way. What we are living through now is the consequences of this irresponsible, self serving behavior. And while there is reason for optimism, the truth is it’s not going to be over for any time soon.
If you’re looking for someone to pander to the legions of anti-mask and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, I’m not your man.
I’m frankly disgusted by some of my colleagues who have irresponsibly pushed conspiracy theories and made simple methods of prevention like mask wearing and social distancing into some sort of political game.
Of course, there are many important things we can do to keep ourselves healthy and less likely to get seriously ill such as take Vitamin D and zinc, and other herbs and essential oils. (I have written about these in the past.)
We should all also let this be a wake up call about the importance of good diet and exercise and how vulnerable we are when we have pre-existing conditions. That’s just common sense. As is taking simple precautions like wearing a mask, social distancing and washing hands.
I think conspiracy mongering is nothing but a form of narcissism and it should be called out as such. Here’s a good article that looks at this in depth and really does a good job of calling out this dangerous phenomenon.
As of writing this the death toll in the US is 626,713. Covid-19 is not a hoax or a grand plot to control humanity. It’s a deadly, novel virus that is lethal for some and, unfortunately, we don’t yet know enough about it to know why. So, that means anyone can be at risk of dying or of having long term effects from the virus.
The focus of this piece is to look at the pros and cons of the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently being made available via the emergency use authorization from the FDA. There are two vaccines that have been authorized at this time, one made by Pfizer and one made by Moderna.
Both are mRNA vaccines. What does this mean?
mRNA technology was discovered 30 years ago. And it has been studied for vaccine purposes for nearly two decades. Scientists were working on vaccines for both SARS and MERS, but funding was cut and they didn’t develop them until recently, when due to the pandemic we had a great deal more urgency and money to help develop these more quickly.
Clinical trials for mRNA vaccines have been conducted for influenza, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Advances in technology in RNA biology and chemistry as with delivery systems has improved the stability, safety and effectiveness of these vaccines.
RNA and DNA are not the same. Without getting too far into the weeds, let’s say they are both some of the most important molecules for cell biology and they are used to store and share information about every cell, organ and tissue in the body.
DNA encodes the information, RNA is the reader that decodes that information. (Here’s an in-depth look at this:)
That being said, RNA vaccine development is relatively new and we just do not have much data on the long term effects of this technology. And the reality is that we won’t for some time. We are all living through a large global experiment right now involving COVID-19 and treatment and prevention strategies for it.
One concern that many people have is in the ingredients of what’s in the vaccines. This is also an area of misinformation and outright lies. Both manufacturers of these vaccines have been transparent about what is in them.
These vaccines do not use the live virus that causes COVID-19. They also do not interact with our DNA. These vaccines work by providing instructions to our immune cells by introducing fragments of the spike protein which is found on the surface of the virus (that’s what the virus uses to enter our cells).
The vaccines also do not contain fetal stem cells. Some of the vaccines being studied in clinical trials used cells originally isolated from fetal tissue. These come from historical cells lines that were derived in the 1970’s and 1980’s from two elective abortions.
The fetal cell lines that were used to produce some of the potential COVID-19 vaccines are from two sources:
HEK-293 A kidney cell line that was isolated in 1972
Per.C6 A retinal cell line that was isolated in 1985
The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna do not require the use of fetal cell cultures in order to manufacture the vaccine.
Early in the development of these vaccines they were used for “proof of concept” to show how a cell could take up mRNA and produce the COVID spike protein or to characterize the spike protein.
In fact, both vaccines have been deemed ethically uncontroversial by pro-life policy organizations like The Charlotte Lozier Institute and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
The vaccine is injected into the muscle in the upper arm. Once in the muscle cell the cells follow the instructions from the mRNA fragment and make a piece of protein. After this is made the cells break break down these instructions and destroy them.
Next, the cell displays this protein piece on it’s surface. Our immune system recognizes this protein as something foreign and it makes antibodies against it. The development of these antibodies by our immune system gives us protection against future infection.
The obvious benefit of doing this versus actually getting COVID-19 is that you gain protection without having to go through the potentially dangerous consequences of getting the virus. However, we do not yet know how long this protection lasts.
In addition, there has been some research done by Dr. Kharrazian and Dr. Vojdani on cross-reactivity of the spike protein to some of our own tissues and this is an area of potential concern.
This may have implications for the development of autoimmune disease, but we just don’t know yet. It’s not clear whether the fragments used in the vaccines are proteins that cross react, not all of them do.
Another area of misinformation is the ingredients. There is no formaldehyde, no aluminum, and no mercury. These are sometimes used in other vaccines, they are not used in these.
When the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was granted an EUA from the FDA, its ingredients list was published online along with other safety data. The list includes:
What are the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine ingredients?
Moderna has also been given emergency use authorization for their vaccine. Moderna also recently released its ingredients list through the FDA:
OTHER FACTS
| Pfizer | Moderna |
| 95% effective 30 mcg doses given 21 days apart Must be diluted with 0.9% sodium chloride Must be stored at -112 to -76 degrees F 36,621 people took part in the clinical trial Approved for age 16 and over Published safety and final efficacy results from Phase 3 on 12/10/20 | 94.5% effective 100 mcg doses given 28 days apart No dilution required Stored at -13 to -5 degrees F 30,350 people took part in clinical trial Approved for age 18 and over Announced primary efficacy analysis on Phase 3 on 11/30/20 |
One concern that many people have is whether or not this vaccine is safe for people with autoimmunity and in our case, thyroid autoimmunity.
The CDC guidelines on this are pretty vague:
“People with autoimmune conditions may receive an mRNA vaccine. However, they should be aware that no data are currently available on the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for them. Individuals from this group were eligible for clinical trials.”
Not much help.
As I mentioned previously, Dr. Kharrazian and Dr. Vojdani’s research into cross reactivity of the COVID-19 spike protein and some of our tissues revealed that some (not all of the) proteins are cross reactive to human tissue. This has implications for the development of autoimmunity from the virus.
But, I could not find data on whether or not these proteins are the proteins used in the mRNA vaccines.
Something else that has been studied is the impact of COVID-19 on the thyroid.
There is evidence that COVID-19 may result in post-infection thyroid disease. Sub-acute thyroiditis is a common finding.
This is pretty common for any virus that affects the upper respiratory system. Epstein Barr can also do this as can the flu, the mumps and other viral infections.
There is also some evidence of that thyroid disease is associated with severe COVID-19 infections.
Pre-existing hypothyroidism is not associated with increased hospitalization or ventilator use in patients with COVID-19. One study looked at 3703 COVID-19 patients (251 had pre-existing hypothyroidism, 22 had Hashimoto’s. 68% of the COVID-19 positive patients with hypothyroidism needed hospitalization. But apparently, this is not higher than other groups.
At the end of the day, there are potential consequences to the thyroid if you contract COVID-19. And while I have not seen any evidence that people with Hashimoto’s are more vulnerable to COVID, getting it may complicate the disease. How much? We still don’t know.
We do not have a lot of data on people with Hashimoto’s who got the vaccine. As you know we have a wonderful and supportive community online and I was able to survey my Facebook (51,000) and Instagram (14,000) followers and I got responses from 23 people with Hashimoto’s, all mostly frontline workers who got the vaccine.
All but two got the the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine. Of that group, none reported any severe reactions. 6 reported some soreness in the arm around the injection site which went away in a day or two. Two others reported fatigue and body aches.
Everyone else reported no reaction at all that they were aware of. None have gotten the second dose of the vaccine yet. I will be following up and asking them about this.
Whenever making a decision of this magnitude, we have to look at risk and benefit. I am not for or opposed to the vaccine. But I am opposed to misinformation and lies.
Here’s what we know:
Covid can be fatal and can cause long term damage to many parts of the body ( the lungs, the cardiovascular system, the brain and nervous system and the thyroid and more).
We don’t know who it will be fatal for, but it kills more men, and those with pre-existing conditions and people of color.
Also, the pandemic’s economic and social destruction will not end until we have some type of herd immunity. This can happen if enough people get sick (and lots, lots more will die) or we get vaccinated to such a degree as a society that the virus peters out.
Some combination of that will probably occur over the next year. The vaccine is an important part of achieving that (and ultimately saving lives).
These mRNA vaccines do not contain mercury, formaldehyde, or aluminum. Nor are fetal stem cells used to manufacture the vaccine.
So far, from the small sample size we have, there were few side effects. We don’t know about the long term effects of the vaccine, but we do know about the long term effects of COVID-19.
Vaccines have also worked historically for other diseases.
I hope this was helpful and that it can be used to help you make a better, more well informed decision about whether or not to get the vaccine.
I intend to get it as soon as I am able.
Sincerely, Marc
REAL STORIES FROM REAL PEOPLE:
WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
“I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, PCOS, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, and IBS/Leaky Gut Syndrome over three years ago.
I went from running 6 days a week and feeling healthy and full of energy. To slowly deteriorating and becoming more and more sick. I was prescribed five different medications.
I chose to only to be on the Levothyroxine, and even then, the side effects for me only compounded my symptoms.
I was at the lowest in my life, physically emotionally and mentally. The best way to describe it was that it felt like my body was “literally dying”. I felt like I had a “hangover” everyday.
I never felt “right”. I had fatigue and widespread body pain. I would get bad headaches at the base of my skull that included nose bleeds that at times, lasted several hours and would put me in the ER.
Eventually my symptoms went from being just physical. To also affecting me mentally and emotionally. Along with daily foggy brain and stroke like symptoms. I had severe anxiety and depression, along with irritability and outbursts of anger.
I was at a point in my life, that I had more bad days than good. I was so exhausted and beat up. I had lost all hope of ever getting my health, life and well being back. I felt lost. This disease had become my identity. And for me, that was humiliating.
I stumbled across Marc’s Facebook page and could relate with everything he posted. The more curious I got, the more I looked into what he had to say. I thought “What do I have to lose? I’ll order his book and video series and see if this gives me any answers”.
After receiving my copy of Marc’s book Roadmap To Remission in September 2015. My wonderfully supportive but equally frustrated and exhausted husband and I started eating the Paleo/AIP lifestyle right away.
I noticed after a few days. My symptoms were becoming less severe and less frequent. Now a few weeks into it, I still have not had any flare ups.
My energy is coming back. I am no longer having pain, depression, anxiety, heartburn or bowel problems. And I’m even sleeping better at night. And to my pleasant surprise.
The weight is just falling off (with having Hashimoto’s, that was something I had given up hope of ever happening). My husband has also lost weight and has more energy for his demanding career as an Engineer.
As Marc recommends. I am keeping a journal. I find that since I’m feeling so good now. It helps remind me “why” I started this , and helps me stay on track with the things that work and don’t work for me.
I never would have started down my path of healing without the tools necessary that Marc Ryan and his book has provided me. He personally told me that I need to embrace “change” and be willing to “learn” and to not stray from my new “lifestyle”.
I am now enjoying and embracing my new lease on life, one day at a time. I know this is a life long journey that I will be on. But for the first time in years, I am excited about living again and seeing what life has in store for me!
I’m so grateful to Marc Ryan and his book, Roadmap To Remission. He has provided me with the gift of “Hope” and the tools to “Help” me down my path of my “Healing”. TONIA BALL
Green Health Acupuncture and Marc Ryan, L.Ac. are proud to announce the launch of their new website www.hashimotoshealing.com, devoted to offering community, tools and resources for better management and treatment of Hashimoto’s, hypothyroidism and related issues.
I have been treating patients with Hashimoto’s for over 10 years and I have developed a system that combines the wisdom of Eastern medicine and ideas with Western diagnostics techniques and understanding of how the body works. This system is called Healing Hashimoto’s: The 5 Elements of Thyroid Health.
The 5 Element system is a way of looking at interactions in the natural world and was discovered while observing nature. The ancient Chinese noticed that things affected one another and they looked for way to explain it. They came up with the 5 elements as a way of describing these interactions within living systems.
The 5 element system can be applied to almost anything. It is used to describe the human body and human personalities. It has also been applied to business, management and marketing. Basically, it says that there are distinct groups within any living system and they influence each other. If one of these groups is unhealthy or neglected then the others will eventually suffer. If you want to be healthy or successful, you must make sure that all of the systems are healthy and in balance.
For example, if bees die out, we will have no pollination and no fruits or vegetables. If a predator dies out, then some species of animals grow out of control and they eat all the plants and push out other species. If we continue to emit excessive amounts of CO2, the earth will get warmer and we will create more extreme weather and dangerous storms. We see this idea playing out, all around us, every day.
The 5 Elements of Thyroid Health system applies this idea to the thyroid and looks at 5 areas that can (and often do) prevent people from effectively managing their Hashimoto’s or hypothyroid conditions. These 5 areas are the digestive system (earth), the immune system (metal), the kidneys and adrenals (water), the liver and gall bladder (wood) and the heart and blood (fire).
In the weeks and months to come we will explore these interactions in this blog and look at how each of these systems affect each other and how they affect thyroid health.
If you want to get started right away, please check out my free 4 video series that explores this system and how it help you.
We look forward to exploring this with you and we want to learn about your challenges and solutions for managing Hashimoto’s. So please leave your thoughts and comments.
I wish you good health and happiness,
Marc