HR IN A COVID WORLD KATHY CATTON
Clearing up COVID-19 confusion Our world is rich with information. But getting to the facts to be able to make a clear decision is often hard to do, particularly when it comes to COVID-19. HRNZ hosted a webinar in September in which Dr Siouxsie Wiles outlined facts and fictions of the vaccine and the virus. Here is a summary.
C
atching COVID-19 is not a pleasant experience for many. The virus attaches to many cells in the body, and symptoms (particularly with long COVID) can affect all parts of the body.
What is the virus and its variants?
The virus infects some cells and seeks to make a virus-producing factory to spread the virus further. Copies of the genetic material occur, but sometimes with errors. Although some ‘errors’ or variations are helpful, some are not. Five variants are currently of concern, according to the World Health Organization, including alpha, Delta and Omicron.
Why is Delta so bad?
Delta is of concern in most countries, mainly due to people having a 1,000 times higher viral load when infected, so the spread is large. Delta also has a shorter incubation period and brings higher hospitalisation rates.
The important thing to stress is that the virus will continue to evolve. The question will be how much worse will Delta get? That’s an unanswered question right now. It may mean vaccines will need rejigging in the future.
How does the vaccine work with our immune system?
When someone gets infected with COVID, a struggle starts between the virus and our cells. The virus wants to make a virus-producing factory, but our body has to tell the immune system it needs help. So, a vaccine is like a cheat sheet (a practice run) for the body. In a sense, the vaccine gets the troops rallied so it can be ready when it really needs them. The Pfizer vaccine takes the parts of the virus that our immune response recognises and enables the cells to then make the COVID-19 spike proteins using the mRNA.
How exactly does the vaccine work?
The ‘m’ stands for messenger, which is a good description of what the vaccine does. It brings a message into the body, to tell the immune system what to look for if coronavirus gets in.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
SUMMER 2021
