My fierce padlet by Deanna Severin

Units

severind — 2024-01-29 00:28:54 UTC

This topic will consist of two units: Science & public health and Biotechnology.

Introduction

severind — 2024-01-29 00:29:32 UTC

Vaccines have been a very controversial topic among the public for as long as the vaccines itself were invented (History of Anti-Vaccination Movements, n.d.).

what are mRNA vaccines?

severind — 2024-01-29 00:30:18 UTC

mRNA vaccines were discovered in the early 1960’s by using biotechnology but never were used for humans until 2020. (Beyrer, 2021) the mRNA in the vaccine teaches your cells how to make copies of the spike protein. If you are exposed to the real virus later on your body will know how to fight it off (MNRA Vaccine, n.d.).

What are the differences between traditional vaccines and mRNA vaccines?

severind — 2024-01-29 00:30:56 UTC

Traditional vaccines, unlike mRNA, are not created by biotechnology and do not create a copy of a spike protein but they put a weakened or unactivated germ into our bodies (What's Different About Messenger RNA (mRNA) Vaccines for COVID-19?, n.d.).

Why does the general public think they and others should not take an mRNA vaccine such as Influenza, Zika, Moderna, etc?

severind — 2024-01-29 00:31:35 UTC

Because of misinformation. For example: COVID-19 vaccines are the most talked about for nearly 4 years. Due to the global pandemic where people had to stay home and quarantine for months making social media like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook became highly popular at the all time high making it easier to spread misinformation regarding medical sciences especially towards vaccines. People spreading false information about the COVID-19 vaccine such as “The vaccines arent safe because they were developed too quickly” “The vaccine can lead to long term effects if you take it” “The COVID-19 vaccines will alter you DNA'' or “The vaccine may make you infertile” all because it was made with biotecnology (Ford, 2021) Which are all FALSE.

But how would the global public even believe all of this information in the first place?

severind — 2024-01-29 00:32:39 UTC

The false information circled around the internet with sites, videos, and even influencers with platforms such as Bill Gates, speaking on how the vaccine “Is not very effective at preventing infection against later variants.” and “They do not provide sufficient long-term protection to those who are most vulnerable.” feeding the misinformation on the COVID-19 vaccine making many anti-vaxx sitess pop up, quoting that Bill Gates even says the vaccine “Does not work at all.” (Anti-Vaccine Site Falsely Claims Bill Gates Disparaged COVID-19 Vaccines in Video, 2023).

FDA warns the public about mRNA vaccine misinformation

severind — 2024-01-29 00:35:05 UTC

COVID-19 aside there are other biotechnological created vaccines that people grow suspicious of for misinformation like influenza being second most common to be disliked. According to the CDC, influenza may wreck havoc on the body by experiencing side effects like fever, chills, fatigue, and even sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. Also possibly causing pneumonia, which could be serious (Here Are Some Reasons Why People Don't Get the Flu Shot — And Why They're Wrong, 2018). The FDA warns the public that they should be aware of medical misinformation and should not trust other sources if it is not official or approved by the government (Hansen, 2024).

How can we identify if information is true or false?

severind — 2024-01-29 00:36:01 UTC

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to find out whether medical information is true or false: 1. What is the purpose of the website, and who owns or sponsors it? Knowing who pays for a website may provide insight on the mission or goal for the site. For example, if a business pays for the site, the health information may favour that business’s products and sometimes even looking at the URL will even tell you the type of agency or orgaization that owns the site (How To Find Reliable Health Information Online | National Institute on Aging, 2023).

severind — 2024-01-29 00:36:34 UTC

.gov - is owned by a government agency.
.edu - identifies as an educational platform such as for school, college, or university.
.org - usually identifies non-profit organizations, such as medical or reasearch societies and advocay groups.
.com - identifies as commercial websites, such as business and pharmaceutical companies.

How might we prevent this in the future?

severind — 2024-01-29 00:37:27 UTC

Adressing medical misinformation is a whole of society effort. We can start by focusing on the following areas of action:

Equip People with the tools to identify misinformation.
Expand research that depems our understanding of health misinformation including on how it spreads and evolves.
Implement product design and policy changes on technology platforms to slow the spread of misinformation.
Invest in longer term efforts to build resilience against health misinformation such as media, science, digital data, health and literacy programs and training, journalists, and others.
Convene federal, local, provate, non profit, and research partners.

Adressing health misinformation will require a whole of society effort. (WE CAN TAKE ACTION - Confronting Health Misinformation, n.d.)

Biomedical professions that can speak against medical misinformation

severind — 2024-01-29 00:38:33 UTC

To publically speak against medical related misinformation there are professions, you can work to be a scientist. Being a scientist has a $82,431 per year salary (Scientist Salary in Canada, n.d.) and for schooling tuition varies by what Universities you go to but usually ranging from $30,744-$34,152 (Tuition Fees by University, n.d.). And could be employed at Argiculture and Argi-Food Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Acency, Natural resources Canada, Gillead Sciences, OHRI, (8 Medical Scientist Jobs in Canada, January 2024, n.d.) (Jobs Open to Science Professionals, n.d.). The responsibilities of being a medical scientist are testing fluid and tissue samples, maintaining high standards throughout the lab, data collection and record maintenance, maintaining and using lab equipment, monitoring organ function, screening blood for abnormalities, performing tests to diagnose diseases (Google Biomed Responsiblities, 2017). And the reason why you should go for this job is you could help others by possibly finding new pathogens, advising to take extra precautions and more.

Refrences

severind — 2024-01-29 00:39:23 UTC

Anti-vaccine site falsely claims Bill Gates disparaged COVID-19 vaccines in video. (2023, January 27). Public Health Communications Collaborative. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://publichealthcollaborative.org/misinformation-alert/anti-vaccine-site-falsely-claims-bill-gates-disparaged-covid-19-vaccines-in-video/

Beyrer, C. (2021, October 6). The Long History of mRNA Vaccines | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/the-long-history-of-mrna-vaccines

8 medical scientist Jobs in Canada, January 2024. (n.d.). Glassdoor. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://www.glassdoor.ca/Job/canada-medical-scientist-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,6_IN3_KO7,24.htm

Ford, H. (2021, August 3). 10 Rumors About The COVID-19 Vaccines That Aren't True. Henry Ford Health. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://www.henryford.com/blog/2021/08/vaccine-myths

google biomed responsiblities. (2017, November 9). YouTube: Home. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://www.google.com/search?q=what+are+biomedical+scientist+responsibilities+and+daily+activities&rlz=1CATAVM_enCA1094&oq=what+are+medical+scientist+re&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCAgBEAAYFhgeMgYIABBFGDkyCAgBEAAYFhgeMggIAhAAGBYYHjIICAMQABgWGB4yDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYig

Hansen, M. (2024, January 3). FDA warns against misinformation on COVID vaccines. YouTube. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZYKmSH-o-g

Here are some reasons why people don't get the flu shot — and why they're wrong. (2018, November 2). CNBC. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/02/heres-why-people-dont-get-a-flu-shot-and-why-you-should.html

History of Anti-Vaccination Movements. (n.d.). History of Vaccines. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://historyofvaccines.org/vaccines-101/misconceptions-about-vaccines/history-anti-vaccination-movements

How To Find Reliable Health Information Online | National Institute on Aging. (2023, January 12). National Institute on Aging. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/healthy-aging/how-find-reliable-health-information-online

Jobs Open to Science Professionals. (n.d.). Science. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/careers-science/jobs-open-science-professionals

mNRA vaccine. (n.d.). How mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Work. Retrieved January 27, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/vaccines/COVID-19-mRNA-infographic_G_508.pdf

Scientist salary in Canada. (n.d.). Indeed. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://ca.indeed.com/career/scientist/salaries

Tuition fees by university. (n.d.). Universities Canada. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://univcan.ca/universities/facts-and-stats/tuition-fees-by-university/

WE CAN TAKE ACTION - Confronting Health Misinformation. (n.d.). NCBI. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK572168/

What's Different About Messenger RNA (mRNA) Vaccines for COVID-19? (n.d.). Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Retrieved January 28, 2024, from https://www.mskcc.org/coronavirus/what-s-different-about-messenger-rna-vaccines-covid-19