Page 4 - Boca ViewPointe - February '21

Page 4, Viewpointe February 2021

Molecular Mechanisms Of The COVID-19 Vaccine

By Tina Fernandez government, states, pharmaceutical companies and health-care cells to send out an immune response. Scientists found that
providers.” mRNA stimulated an even stronger immune response than
In saying goodbye to the rollercoaster of a year that 2020 However, in this article my goal is not to talk about the previous vaccines by producing antibodies but also immune
was, we say hello to hope & a light at the end of the tunnel: the logistics of vaccine distribution, but rather about the science system killer cells, as Dr. Komaroff from the Harvard Health
COVID-19 vaccine. As different pharmaceuticals companies behind the vaccine and the coronavirus. I aim, above all, to Letter described it, a “double strike at the virus.”
continue to announce their success in developing a vaccine inform you all on how the coronavirus infiltrates the body, 3. After hijacking a host cell, how does the coronavirus
against the coronavirus, we feel one step closer to normality how the Pfizer mRNA vaccine works, and how we went from replicate?
again. Of course, vaccination efforts themselves are a whole a clinical trial to a functioning vaccine so quickly. a. There are really four steps that are crucial for replication:
other handful of logistics- between mass producing them, 1. How does COVID enter the body and how does the #1: Viral attachment: the coronavirus fuses to the host cell’s
distributing them, and molding public opinion in favor of the vaccine aim to deter that? membrane in order to enter the cell.
vaccine, it is no easy feat. And still many questions linger in a. The coronavirus has a specific (spike) protein on its #2: Viral disassembly: the virus is basically undone by
the air: when will I receive a vaccine? What about my family? surface, called S Protein, which attaches to a human receptor powerful organelles in the cell called lysosomes, which contain
My friends? Neighbors? As per Carolyn Y. Johnson from The enzyme called Angiotensin Converting Enzyme II (ACE-2). a variety of enzymes that help catalyze the breaking down
Washington Post, “Distributing the vaccine will be a formidable ACE-2 is ubiquitous; it is found in many membranes of many of specific materials. The lysosomes help expose the single-
proposition, requiring elaborate coordination among the federal different cells- lung cells, kidney cells, stomach cells, skin cells, stranded RNA from the virus, a step necessary to proceed with
much of the respiratory system, and even brain cells. This fact replication.
makes the coronavirus even more dangerous because of all #3: Translation and transcription of the RNA from the virus
#4: Viral Assembly: Post-translational modifications occur in
the different types of cells it is able to target. ACE-2 functions
In Memoriam to split a protein called angiotensin II which serves to control the endoplasmic reticulum in order to “re-assemble” the virus,
adding a viral envelope so that the newly replicated virus can
inflammation by inhibiting bradykinin (a peptide that increases
inflammation). So, you can imagine that if the ACE-2 protein attach to and bind to the correct protein on the host cell it will
Our heartfelt condolences to Gloria Greenberg, the is nonfunctional, your bodily cells will be much more prone to now be able to invade.
cherished scribe of the Current Events class, on the the inflammatory response. 4. What did the clinical trials to test the Pfizer vaccine even
loss of her beloved husband Jerry Greenberg. May he b. Once the coronavirus hijacks the cell, it uses the look like?
rest in peace. mechanisms of the host cell (its organelles, molecular reactions, a. There were a total of 43,448 participants aged 16 and over
Our condolences to Nancy Lubman on the passing and metabolic processes) to reproduce and proliferate. that received injections- 21,720 with BNT162b2 and 21,728
of her husband, Ronald Lubman on January 25, 2021. c. The vaccine aims to expose the body to the virus in a safe with a placebo.
Ronald and Nancy have been Boca Pointe residents way to stimulate the immune response’s preparation in case of b. Two injections, each 30 micrograms of BNT162b2 were
since 1992.  a real infection. The details on how an mRNA vaccine works given twenty-one days apart to the deltoid muscle.
are in the next question. c. Seven days after the second dose of the vaccine, only 8
2. What is an mRNA vaccine? members of the population that received the vaccine displayed
a. Traditional vaccines, like the ones for polio and measles, symptoms of COVID-19. Meanwhile, 162 of the participants
are not mRNA vaccines. Traditional vaccines work by growing from the population that received the placebo vaccine
Golf Carts a “inactivated” version of the polio or measles virus in a experienced COVID-19 symptoms. The clinical trials had
subjects from all around the world- mostly from the United
laboratory, and then reinjecting the “weakened” virus into the
Please Drive body so that an immune response is elicited. The process of States, but also from countries like Argentina, Brazil, South
Africa, Germany, and Turkey.
“weakening” the virus is costly, time-consuming, and obviously
d. No patients died during the clinical trials due to the
Carefully! very complex. In addition, it poses a much higher risk for vaccine.
contamination.
b. On the other hand, mRNA vaccines can be produced 5. What are some limitations of the clinical trials conducted?
in cell-free systems, and thus more quickly and in larger a. Obviously the sample size could’ve been bigger, and
quantities. Thanks to the advancements in genetic sequencing, according to the report, the clinical trials did not include anyone
the DNA (and therefore mRNA) sequence of the coronavirus younger than 16, subjects in special risk groups, nor pregnant
was identified and publicly published by scientists in China just women.
weeks after COVID-19 emerged. Sources:
c. mRNA is the intermediate product that comes after DNA 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/16/
and before a protein (transcription and translation). The DNA covid-moderna-vaccine/\
is like the recipe to make your cake (the final protein), and the 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
mRNA is the intermediate of that process. By knowing the exact PMC7745181/
sequence of mRNA that makes the S Protein of the coronavirus 3. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/rna-vaccines-a-
(what is used to infiltrate the host cell), scientists are able to mass novel-technology-to-prevent-and-treat-disease/
produce mRNA in a laboratory. Then, like any other vaccine,
the mRNA is injected into the body, where it “educates” your Tina Fernandez is a resident of The Palms. 

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What To Do Legally When Your

Partner Dies

By Martin Zevin, Attorney new Deed to avoid probate when you die.
If you do not have a Revocable Living Trust, this appointment
Losing your spouse, partner will be a good opportunity to discuss the creation of a Trust and
or significant other is a very preparation of a Deed in order to avoid probate on your home and
traumatic event. It is most other real estate. You can also discuss the option of a Life Estate
important for your physical and Deed to avoid probate.
emotional health to give yourself If you do have a Trust, this may be an appropriate time
time for the grieving process. to consider doing an Amendment to the Trust based on new
Once you feel mentally and circumstances. Your home and other real estate (in Florida and
emotionally able to do so, you out-of-state) should be owned by you as Trustee of the Trust.
should schedule an appointment You may wish to name one of your children as Co-Trustee to
with an attorney to review all legal documents. make it easier to manage the assets in your Trust if you become
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