Selected fakes about covid

Top 20 myths about coronavirus: exposure

Alexander Panchin, TrV-Science

I am sure that each of us has encountered people who believe that coronavirus vaccines are evil, a conspiracy and an attempt to turn us into mutants. I recently asked subscribers (on Facebook — Editor's note) to share exactly what arguments they have heard from opponents of vaccinations. After reading hundreds of comments, I have highlighted the top 20 most popular statements, which I will now try to sort out.

1. "There is no coronavirus, no one has isolated the virus!"

Biological viruses are genetic material in a shell, transmitted from cell to cell. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has a unique set of genes that has been read, published and is freely available. It is impossible to confuse its genes with those of any other virus. In laboratories around the world, scientists analyze the genetic sequences of viruses of infected people. To date, the GISAID international database contains 4,887,310 read genomes (sets of genes) of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Each such reading confirms the existence of the virus in a particular patient without the slightest doubt. There is no such amount of genetic data for any virus.

2. "The scale of the pandemic is exaggerated"

According to the data Worldometers, to date, more than 5,048,560 deaths have been registered as a result of COVID-19 (although in reality the figure may be higher). Let's compare COVID-19 with tuberculosis and HIV, for example. Tuberculosis claims 1.4 million lives annually, HIV - 0.5–1 million lives. Will you still claim that "the danger of coronavirus is exaggerated"?

3. "COVID-19 is a common ARVI. We have been sick with coronaviruses before"

We really have been sick with coronaviruses before. But coronaviruses are a large group of viruses, which includes both harmless and very dangerous representatives. For example, every tenth person infected with the SARS virus and every third infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus die. These are also coronaviruses.

SARS-CoV-2 is not so deadly, but much more contagious. In addition, a person infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is 20 times more likely to die than a person infected with the flu. And the symptomatic course of COVID-19 often ends with severe and prolonged post-ovoid syndrome. At the same time, the virus mutates — and so far, in the process of evolution, it has only become more dangerous.

4. "There is no consensus among doctors about vaccinations"

Yes, some doctors do not advise vaccinating against COVID-19. What does this mean? About the fact that everything is not very good with medical education in our country. Just keep in mind: if the doctor dissuades you from vaccination, it means that you need to leave him urgently, or better yet, run away. A good doctor who adheres to the principles of evidence-based medicine never opposes vaccines that have passed clinical trials.

By the way, the head physician of a homeopathic clinic recently died in Chelyabinsk. He actively opposed vaccination against coronavirus. Can you guess on one try what the homeopath died of?

5. "Vaccine can cause coronavirus infection"

There are several coronavirus vaccines in Russia, but I advise you to choose only Sputnik V. It does not contain coronavirus. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has almost three dozen genes. The vaccine contains only one — the gene of the spike S-protein. This gene is chosen because it is located on the surface of the virus, therefore it is a target for the immune system. To create a vaccine, the physical presence of the original virus in the laboratory is not required. That is, it is impossible to get infected with coronavirus from a vaccine in principle.

6. "Vaccinated are contagious"

As already mentioned, the vaccination itself does not cause infection. But no vaccine guarantees that a person will not get sick. Vaccination reduces the chance of getting sick and especially reduces the likelihood of severe illness and death. Once infected, the vaccinated person will not be ill for so long, will secrete less virus and infect fewer people. It is also important to take into account that the probability of infection and the severity of the disease depend on the amount of virus that a person will receive upon contact with the patient.

And yet, vaccinated people can be contagious, so they should also observe safety measures — in particular, wear masks in crowded places.

7. "If vaccinated people can get sick, then vaccines have nothing to do with trying to stop the pandemic"

The dynamics of the pandemic depends on a fairly understandable magnitude: how many people on average one infected person infects while he is contagious. If this value is greater than one, then we will have an exponential increase in morbidity. If less than one — decline. The reduction of morbidity is achieved by various methods: social distance, wearing masks, remote work, avoiding mass gatherings of people, compliance with hygiene rules and immunization. Every measure and every person contributes.

8. "My friend (or acquaintance) was vaccinated, but still got sick"

Yes, it is possible. Especially if a friend was vaccinated recently or, conversely, was vaccinated more than a year ago and he has almost no antibodies left. Most likely, the course of the disease without vaccination would be much worse.

9. "I won't get sick, my immunity is good"

The phrase "good immunity" carries little meaning. Until your body encounters a specific virus or vaccine against it, antibodies or cellular immunity from this virus will not appear. After vaccination or illness, your resistance to a particular pathogen will increase significantly, but will not change in relation to other pathogens.

I have heard the opinion that the best protection against diseases is a healthy lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle is great! But jogging, a Mediterranean diet and quality sleep will not provide you with cellular immunity or antibodies to coronavirus.

(An important point: eating dietary supplements, meditation and cleansing the intestines of toxins have nothing to do with a healthy lifestyle. Nothing!)

10. "The Sputnik V vaccine contains tris, and it is forbidden to inject it even to animals!"

Tris is a solution common in molecular biology that plays the role of a buffer at physiological pH values. It is used not only in Sputnik, but also, for example, in the Moderna vaccine. It is used in medicine in the treatment of metabolic acidosis (although in much larger quantities than it is contained in vaccines). Most likely, the rumors about the danger of tris came from the signature to the technical tris, which is intended for use in laboratories. As, for example, there is technical alcohol, which is not drunk during feasts.

11. "I don't trust Putin's vaccine." That's how I would get vaccinated!"

It would be great if in CanSino Biologics, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have introduced coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, CanSino Biologics, and Johnson & Johnson. Alas, I cannot influence this. And yet the Sputnik vaccine was developed not by government officials, but by highly qualified specialists. The main creator of the vaccine is Denis Logunov, a respected and cited scientist. Vaccine developers have not been previously noticed in any falsifications. At the same time, Sputnik is registered in almost 70 countries.

The principle of all approved vector and mRNA vaccines, including Sputnik and Pfizer, is very similar: some human cells will produce the surface S-protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and expose its parts to their surface. Then the cells of the immune system recognize the sites of the foreign protein and begin to actively divide. Some cells will produce antibodies against this protein, some will become memory cells and will be ready to fight a full-fledged virus if it appears.

12. "This is not a vaccine, but a gene therapy! The vaccine is genetically modifying me!"

The Sputnik vaccine can cause some human cells (mainly muscle tissue at the injection site) to produce one of the coronavirus proteins. Adenoviruses do not specifically embed their genetic material into the chromosomes of the cells they infect. Therefore, in the case of a vaccine, this is not to be expected. In any case, the most likely fate of the cells producing the coronavirus protein is subsequent death. It's not scary, because muscle cells die regularly, including during muscle loads. And they are easily restored.

If someone fears that a vector vaccine can genetically modify a person, they should understand that any virus that causes even the mildest cold causes our cells to produce foreign proteins. In other words, real viruses "modify" us much more than a vaccine.

13. "The vaccine was made too quickly"

The beauty of vector and mRNA vaccines is that they easily replace the gene they deliver. Therefore, as soon as the genetic sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were read and published in China, scientists from all over the world could immediately get to work, even without having the virus on their hands. Such vaccines are based on earlier developments in the delivery of genetic material. It's like a constructor in which it's not difficult to change the details.

It is more difficult to conduct clinical trials and establish mass production. With the first, alas, the speed of infection helps. It is not difficult to collect sufficient statistics of cases of infection. And the mass production of vaccines was managed thanks to serious financial investments.

14. "You can't get vaccinated during an epidemic"

It's exactly the opposite. What is an epidemic for an individual? This is an increased chance of getting sick. Therefore, it is especially important to be vaccinated in an epidemic. If the epidemic suddenly ends, then it will make less sense to be vaccinated, because the probability of infection will not be so high. At the same time, the more people are vaccinated, the more likely it is that the epidemic will end and the fewer deaths and disabilities there will be.

Do you want fewer victims? Please get vaccinated with a "Satellite".

15. "The vaccine may have unknown effects in the future"

It is unlikely that the long-term or short-term effects of the Sputnik vaccine will exceed those of a common adenovirus infection. The spike-like protein that some human cells will produce will not be part of any viruses and will be disposed of by the immune system.

At the same time, there are very real concerns about unknown effects in the future from the coronavirus infection itself. Many people have already experienced long-term loss of sense of smell and other post-ovoid symptoms. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus penetrates cells through receptors that are found not only in the cells of the pulmonary epithelium, but also in some parts of the intestine, in the heart, kidneys, pancreas, as well as in male and female genital tissues. So I would rather expect fertility problems from COVID-19, rather than a vaccine.

16. "The third phase of clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine has not been completed"

The Lancet published interim data of the third phase of clinical trials of the vaccine on a sample of more than 20 thousand people. And although the research may continue for a long time, this will not change the fact that vaccinated people in this study were much less ill. Moreover, the results for the Sputnik vaccine are similar to the results for other similar vaccines produced in other countries. I decided to get vaccinated with the Sputnik vaccine before this publication, because earlier in The Lancet magazine there were impressive results on the effectiveness of the vector vaccine from CanSino Biologics, very similar to Sputnik V.

17. "The article about Sputnik in The Lancet contains errors and/or is fabricated"

Indeed, the article about Sputnik in The Lancet was criticized. But then the authors' response was published there. When there is evidence of errors or forgery in an article in a scientific journal of this level, the article is usually withdrawn. For example, the magazine The Lancet has withdrawn an article whose authors unreasonably linked vaccinations against measles, rubella and mumps with the development of autism. The article about the Sputnik vaccine has not been withdrawn. In addition, there are other articles about the effectiveness of this vaccine.

18. "I don't want to get vaccinated every six months"

Indeed, studies show that immunity to coronavirus infection decreases over time. And revaccination can significantly reduce the risk of infection against the background of two existing doses. What will happen next is unknown: science is moving forward and may offer new, even more effective vaccines and medicines. Perhaps the pandemic will end. But it must be survived. And try to stay healthy.

19. "This is a personal matter for everyone. If you want, inject, and leave me alone"

Alas, this is not quite true. To defeat the pandemic, we need to achieve population immunity. Make it so that one person infects less than one person. This can be achieved only if mass vaccination is carried out or if most people get sick (which will lead to mass deaths and disabilities). Children cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19 yet, but I hope this will change in the future. Given that immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus weakens over time, it is desirable that mass vaccination takes place in a short time. By refusing vaccination, you not only increase the risk of your own death, but also the death of relatives, relatives and friends. And you are also delaying the moment when we can forget about this pandemic as a terrible dream.

20. "Vaccine supporters are bought"

I can't speak for everyone, but I will speak for myself. I have never received money from the state or from vaccine manufacturers for such posts or lectures. Well, imagine how many people you need to buy! There are hundreds of scientific publications on vector and mRNA vaccines from SARS-CoV-2 by various research teams from all over the world. There is data on the Sputnik vaccine obtained not only in Russia, but also in Argentina, San Marino and other countries.

Conclusion

Recently, every day covid in Russia takes the lives of more than a thousand people. In my opinion, this is a tragedy. And I am sad to realize that many deaths could have been avoided if we had been more willing and active in vaccinating against coronavirus. The vaccine will not make you infertile, it will not turn you into mutants, you will not grow a tail and a third ear. You will not only protect yourself — you will bring humanity one step closer to the end of the pandemic.

I hope this text will convince someone to get vaccinated or revaccinated against coronavirus. I will be glad if you send a post to those who still doubt whether to put a "Satellite" or not.

About the author: Alexander Panchin – Candidate of Biological Sciences, Senior researcher of the Molecular Evolution Sector of the IPPR RAS, member of the RAS Commission on Combating Pseudoscience, winner of the "Educator" award for the book "Sum of Biotechnology".

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