The most exhaustive review on covid vaccines dispels doubts

BarcelonaMessenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines managed to reverse the worst health crisis of the 21st century: COVID-19. In recent years, billions of doses have been administered worldwide to prevent this disease. Despite the efforts of the scientific community to inform about the safety and efficacy of the technology used to develop them in record time, an anti-vaccine movement has emerged that has constantly questioned them with misinformation and fake news. Now, researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver (Canada) have conducted an exhaustive review of the scientific evidence on these vaccines and have concluded that they are "safe and highly effective" in preventing infectious diseases. This review, published in the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet, shows that this type of vaccine has the potential to develop new treatments against the flu, certain types of cancer, and some autoimmune disorders, among others.

Canadian researchers have taken advantage of the fact that billions of doses have been administered and that a lot of evidence has already been generated to conduct one of the most comprehensive evaluations of mRNA vaccines to date. RNA is a fundamental molecule for life. Within all the nuclei of each of the cells that make up our body is the genetic material (DNA), which contains a manual for manufacturing the proteins that give us shape and allow us to exist. Each part of our body knows what to do because it receives these instructions. The mission of messenger RNA is to temporarily transport this information so that cells can manufacture a specific protein, without modifying the DNA.

"This review supports that mRNA vaccines are a safe and highly effective platform," highlights Anna Blakney, assistant professor at the Michael Smith Laboratories and the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC, who is the lead author of the study. However, like all vaccines, mRNA vaccines can also have side effects. Blakney and her colleagues clarify that serious adverse effects, such as myocarditis, which is more common in young men, are rare and the benefits outweigh the risks, especially regarding the prevention of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

Further education

For Manish Sadarangani, a professor of pediatrics at UBC and co-author of the study, it is important for scientists to communicate safety data and rigorous evidence supporting the use of vaccines like the ones they have investigated in a clear and transparent manner. Blakney also believes that "people should feel empowered to ask questions about their health and what they put into their bodies" and, rather than dismissing people's hesitations about vaccination, researchers believe that better communication and accessible, evidence-based information are needed.

"mRNA vaccines have already changed how we respond to global health threats," says Sadarangani, who insists that education is necessary because new ones are likely to be developed in the coming years against diseases such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and some types of cancer.