Spectrum News: Coronavirus vaccine questions, explored: How does it work, and are there side effects?
UC expert explains how the Moderna vaccine works
The development of COVID-19 vaccines is being closely watched as cases continue to spike. The Pfizer vaccine was just recently approved and is being distributed and the Moderna vaccine is expected to be approved soon as well. This news has prompted questions about what people can expect from the shots and how safe they are.
Spectrum News spoke with vaccine experts across the country to dig deeper on the most common questions about the vaccines. One of those was Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UC College of Medicine.
Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, in a lab in the UC Division of Infectious Diseases. Photo/Joe Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t involve injecting the virus itself.
“We’re not giving people the actual virus,” said Fichtenbaum, who oversaw a part of Moderna’s trial at UC. “We're giving them pieces that their body can respond to, so they can’t get COVID from that.”
According to information released by Moderna, the most common reactions to its vaccine included injection site pain, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, and redness at the injection site. The company didn’t note how common those reactions were, but they did say they increased after the second dose of the vaccine.
“It doesn't mean you have COVID, it doesn't mean you have the disease,” Fichtenbaum said. “It means everything has gone right.”
Read the entire article here. Fichtenbaum was featured in a follow-up story by Spectrum News, which you can access here. He was also featured in a Cleveland.com story about vaccine side effects, which can be read here.
Lead photo of Jarelle Marshall, the first patient dosed in the UC/UC Health Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand.
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's medical, graduate and undergraduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Enquirer: Salacious testimony of 1929 murder at UC rare books...
May 1, 2024
The Cincinnati Enquirer highlights a rare book found in a University of Cincinnati library that chronicled a high-profile murder trial in 1929.
WLWT: UC students experience realities of life in prison as part...
May 1, 2024
One day a week, eight UC students travel to the institution as part of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, where they and eight incarcerated individuals discuss criminal justice topics such as sentencing, parole, life after prison and recidivism in a classroom setting. The program is part of a class taught by J.Z. Bennett, an assistant professor of criminal justice.
Yahoo News: Doctors see rising rates of colon cancer in younger...
May 1, 2024
Yahoo News featured comments from the University of Cincinnati's Rekha Chaudhary in a story about rising rates of diagnoses and deaths from colorectal cancers among young people.