Well, at long last we have a COVID-19 vaccine – many of them, of which two are FDA-approved – and a vaccination drive is underway, just in time for the new year. I just got my first shot!

Edward Jenner vaccinating his son. Note the cow outside! Colored engraving by C. Manigaud. [Source]

Here I want to share some thoughts and observations about the vaccine situation.

Soon after the pandemic became a thing I listed in my newsletter some ways that this pandemic, or rather our war against it, is different from earlier historical ones. One way I noted was this:

The arsenal at our disposal – both tools and knowledge – is an order of magnitude above that of even the 20^th century. Way back we thought epidemics are caused by “pestilential vapors” and witchcraft; a century ago we knew they were caused by “germs”, visible as little specks under a microscope. This time, within weeks we had the virus’s DNA sequenced – and, I may point out, the virus does not have our DNA sequenced. We know our enemy in every detail; we can even construct it from raw materials at our pleasure.

Which is why I believe we will lick this new scourge before long. What remains to be seen is whether it will be done through our 20^th century methods, which are really of 19^th century vintage – isolation and immunity, whether by vaccine or “herd immunity”. These last depend on the body’s own immune system (which is some 500 million years old). I hope that will suffice, but if not, the tools we now have – nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and so on – may become necessary.

So today I examine the details of how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work, and I can firmly state that we’re using 21^st century methods. Consider the sequence of vaccination methods over the centuries:

• Variolation (15^th century, China): grind the scab from a smallpox sore of a sick person, blow the powder up the nose of a healthy person, and pray.
• Vaccination (1796, England): scoop some gunk from a festering sore on a sick cow (Yuck!), push it under the skin of a healthy person.
• Polio vaccine (1954, USA): grow viruses in the lab, kill them, and inject them into a healthy person.
• COVID-19 vaccine (2020, Worldwide effort): Create in the lab a completely artificial strand of mRNA modeled after a key part of the virus, encapsulate it in a lipid nanoparticle, inject this into a person, have the mRNA enlist the human cellular machinery to create a harmless viral protein that induces the immune system to create antibodies that can hobble a key part in the real virus’s infection strategy. (Surprise, virus!)

And this new method is a platform: we can load it with any RNA sequence we wish, so if the virus mutates, we can produce a new vaccine without breaking a sweat. Science rocks!

But even as we’re seeing this incredible scientific progress, one thing remains as it was in those past centuries: human obstinacy in denying the gifts of medical progress. People today are refusing to get vaccinated, risking themselves, their families and the entire human race. Why? Because vaccination can make you grow horns like a cow. Ooops… no, that was 19^th century quackery. Today they rely on other conspiracy theories. But the general idea remains, promoted by significant numbers of people.

So, as proof of the persistence of human folly, here is the title page from a French book titled “Historical Treatise of the Dangers of the Vaccine”, dated 1803 – a mere 7 years after Jenner discovered vaccination! Written by a very learned doctor, it says…

You can see the full scan of the book here.

Be well, and get vaccinated, so 2021 can be the year we see this blasted virus lose its crown and its imperial ambitions.

Happy New Year!