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Moderna expected to ship coronavirus vaccine

2020-12-20 | 🔗
NYU Langone pulmonologist Dr. Qanta Ahmed provides insight on ‘Fox and Friends Weekend.’
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jedediah, this is a Fox news Jedediah. This is a Fox news, alert youre, looking live at a distribution center in Mississippi, where Modernas newly approved vaccine is set to ship out this morning, as the CDC is now issuing new guidance warning of Covid 19 allergic reactions. In a statement they said, if you ever had a severe allergic reaction in Covid, 19 vaccine CDC recommends that you should not get that specific vaccine f. You have had a severe allergic reaction to other vaccines or injectible therapies. You should ask your doctor if you should get a Covid 19 vaccine, we have a pulmonologist at Nyu Langone. Thank you for being here. Obviously a lot to unpack. Here I want to get your take on Moderna the vaccine. The fact many people will soon have access to it. If you can also give us your take in that same breath, perhaps on the reactions and some concerns, people have with allergic reactions to the vaccine. The Moderna, like the Pfizer vaccine, is an incredible technology.
If you read really about the molecular biology involved, theyre injecting proteins that are extremely similar to the spike protein in the coronavirus that sets our immune system in motion, which is so intelligent within a few weeks, well have antibodies for this virus, which, by the way, will cover many variations of the virus were now encountering. The allergic reactions are expected. Put this in perspective, six allergic reactions in two hundred and seventy two thousand Covid 19 vaccines administered, so its a very miniscule chance. I think I actually have food allergies im planning to get the vaccine minor allergies, latex allergies, Aller byes to dyes and so on in terms of food dyes should not prohibit you if you ever had allergic reaction to the flu vaccine or
intravenous contrast for a CT scan. This Pfizer vaccine you may skip, even though each patient getting the vaccine at Nyu getting this is watched for thirty minutes. We know if someone has a reaction. There is preparation to treat that immediately. We know how to treat allergic reactions that is much more reversible than a severe case of Covid 19. This is not anything to be alarmed about, and it is not surprising Jedediah. You talked about the vaccine and what it can and cant address. On that topic. The UK imposed new lockdowns theyre, trying to curb a new covid 19 strain that is out there. Theyre saying it is more contagious. Would the vaccine coming out in the United States right now? Would that address different strains, or would you need a separate vaccine to address each strain of the virus, because both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine work several different places to deter the coronavirus spike protein? This
new, we think its a mutation theyre, seeing in the southeast of England and now London is addressed by the current vaccine. That is absolutely likely to be treated were also seeing, even though this thing seems to be very transmissible in London, they detected twenty three new letters in the viral code. In this new version of the coronavirus, which is spreading very rapidly even spreading rapidly, it is not resulting in more severe disease. I think what will become difficult and already apparent is that this may not be as con takennable as previous versions of the coronavirus vaccine im very worried. My family lives in London. They are in Britain, so this is a concern, but it is not representing more severe disease. The vaccines will address this. It makes it even more important Americans, british people, the people around the world to be quickly vaccinated. Britain is slightly ahead. Three hundred and fifty thousand people have been vaccinated in short period of time.
They had one week head start above the: U dot s. I think in that Jedediah Doctor were running out of time. Unfortunately, but thank you very much for joining us with your insights Jedediah my pleasure. Merry Christmas. Everybody should be confident.
Transcript generated on 2020-12-20.