NJ Health Experts Answer Patch Readers’ COVID Vaccine Questions

NORTH JERSEY — The first vaccinations for COVID-19 have begun in the Garden State and while many are scrambling for appointments to get their inoculation, there are still many who have questions. So Patch jumped in to get your answers.

We asked readers to send us their queries about COVID-19 vaccines and then got answers from local experts. Dr. Donald Allegra (Newton Medical Center) and Dr. Robert Roland (Overlook Medical Center) — both infectious-disease specialists within the Atlantic Health System — answered reader questions below.

Patch embarked on this project with a few goals in mind:

• Patch readers have varying levels of confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, according to our survey from December. So it felt important to give readers the opportunity to get responses to their questions and doubts. Read more: Most In NJ Will Take COVID-19 Vaccine, But Some Skeptical: Survey
• We knew some readers would have questions specific to their health status, and it can be difficult to find answers to those in FAQs. Patch feels those inquiries deserve answers, and they may end up helping other readers besides the person who asked the question.
• Since the COVID-19 vaccines haven't been around long, not every question has an answer. It's important for the public to hear from experts what the scientific community knows and doesn't know.

Before Patch gets into the questions, let's note one thing: Atlantic Health System recommends asking the New Jersey Department of Health any questions relating to your eligibility.

Below contains Part 1 of the questions Patch sent to health experts, who will provide answers for more on a later date.

Once I am vaccinated, why am I still being told to wear a mask and social distance?

Roland: The vaccine will stimulate your immune system to develop protective immunity in the form of antibodies and hopefully T-cell memory. So if you are exposed, you won’t develop active COVID-19 symptoms. However, as with any respiratory virus an individual can still be exposed and therefore have the virus in their respiratory tract and potentially transmit it to others who may not be immune.

How does an MRNA vaccine differ from other vaccines?

Roland: Most other common vaccines in the past have been either killed virus, or vaccines using live, attenuated viruses whose virulence has been drastically reduced. Using Influenza as an example, the most common method used to produce each year’s seasonal flu vaccine involves a laborious, time-consuming process to grow the selected flu virus strains in chicken eggs. There is also a cell-based production process in which flu virus is grown in cultured mammalian cells, instead of in chicken eggs. The newest form is that of a recombinant DNA manufacturing for flu vaccines. The flu surface protein called hemagglutinin is then harvested from these cells and purified. mRNA vaccines utilize a Messenger RNA strand that is packaged in a Lipid Nanoparticle that our cells then uptake and then in the cytosol it is used by our cells to make; in the case of COVID-19, a spike protein which is then released and stimulates our bodies to make anti-spike antibodies.

Is there fetal tissue in this vaccine?

Roland: The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which use mRNA technology, do not contain fetal cells and do not rely on fetal cells in production.

Should someone with MS get the vaccine?

Allegra: There are no contraindications for someone with MS to get the COVID vaccine. In fact, those with other medical problems are at increased risk of COVID complications and should definitely get the vaccine.

If I have autoimmune diseases and am on autoimmune suppression drugs (cellcept plus Remicade), is it safe to get the vaccine?

Allegra: The COVID vaccine is not a live vaccine so there is no risk of taking the vaccine and since complications of COVID infection are more common in those with immune suppressant drugs, there is a clear recommendation that vaccine is indicated. Those with immune compromising diseases or treatments, however, may not have as good a response to the vaccine as others but this should not be a deterrent to vaccination.

How long do they believe the protection from the vaccine is going to last for each person?

Allegra: We do not know at the present time whether immunity to the vaccine will last a long time or we will need booster doses of vaccine in the future. As we follow patients who have been vaccinated, we will be able to shed light on this question.

What is the data on a patient with a documented case of COVID receiving the vaccine? Am I eligible? Will it create an unfavorable immune response?

Allegra: The current recommendation is to wait at least three months after a documented COVID infection to be vaccinated. Natural infection after infection lasts at least three months and probably longer. There is no published data yet but it does appear that patients who have had prior COVID infections do seem to have worse transient side effects after vaccination but should still be vaccinated to enhance their immunity.

Why aren't children under 16 being vaccinated?

Allegra: The Pfizer vaccine was approved for those 16 and over and the Moderna vaccine for those 18 and over. Children were not studied in the vaccine trials and that is the reason childhood vaccination is not approved. Also, children do not seem to be as severely affected as adults and at least for this disease, there is less urgency to vaccinate them early. As clinical trials proceed with children included, evidence for dosing and efficacy will become available and then the vaccine will most likely be made available for children.

Still have questions? Don't see yours answered? We will have more of your answers coming in part two of our series. So subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.

With reporting from Russ Crespolini/Patch