By Matt de Simone – Contributing writer
The board welcomed Botetourt native and public health specialist Dr. Beth Leffel. She made a presentation about the quest to stop the coronavirus—who is currently developing a vaccine and information about the distribution plan once a functional vaccination becomes licensed to the public.
Dr. Leffel opened with a timeline of events throughout the world’s discovery of the virus and the pursuit of a vaccine. Her two main points from the chronology of events were the rate in which the virus spread across the globe and the response from companies like Moderna, an American biotech company that began developing a cure two months following the first confirmed case in the United States. She stated other companies are working on vaccines, and over 30 vaccines are in clinical trials worldwide.
She then rehashed the symptoms established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), beginning with the first indicators followed by the newer manifestations directly linked to the virus.
“Perhaps the most disturbing thing that we still don’t know about this disease are the long-term sequelae of a COVID-19 infection,” Dr. Leffel explained. “We’re finding out that some people that have these long-term consequences and have actually been identified as ‘long-haulers’ due to the fact that it is taking months to recover.” She stated that a full recovery might never be possible for long-haulers.
While some people believed that children were not as susceptible to the coronavirus, Dr. Leffel informed members of the community that is not the case. New reports from the CDC show that one-third of the children hospitalized for the illness end up admitted into intensive care with serious complications.
The meeting’s topic turned why people need a vaccination and how fast it could become available. She opened this portion of the presentation by clearing up the function of a vaccine.
“Normally, our immune system builds memory by battling an infection,” Dr. Leffel explained. “When you recover, your body recognizes that, and the second time you see the infection, you’re protected against it. A vaccine mimics that first exposure, but without a person actually having to go through the illness.”
She spoke about the concept of “Herd Immunity”—having enough immune people in a community will disrupt the transmission of a disease. This approach proves vital for those individuals who can’t receive a vaccine due to illness or if they are young children. Individuals who comply with receiving a vaccination will play a big part in this concept in terminating the transmission of COVID-19.
Dr. Leffel’s next topic was the six stages of the vaccine’s development. She walked the online community down the path of advancement from discovery to FDA approval. The road from pre-clinical discovery to clinical trials alone takes years. However, Dr. Leffel explained that there had been a lot of “at-risk” manufacturing due to government partnerships. She laid out the big picture scenario giving an idea of how long a COVID-19 cure could become available through an accelerated process.
Next up, Dr. Leffel listed the companies who had thrown their hat into cure development. She talked about the risks companies are taking to develop millions of doses that may or may not have desired results to this point in its evolution. She broke down how the vaccine intends to work, when companies would potentially conclude their development, and how the government will intend to distribute the cure to the population.
During the conclusion of the session, Dr. Leffel answered questions posed by the community. One question was about whether she is worried about the accelerated development of a vaccine. She replied, “It doesn’t worry me in this particular case because so much is already known about SARS and MERS. Even though this is a new virus, it was similar enough once [experts] got the sequence—and could compare it with what they did with SARS and MERS—that really lowered the risk.”
One of the biggest questions on the minds of many is how long people should wait to get vaccinated once it becomes available. “As soon as it’s widely available, I would recommend everybody take it immediately,” Dr. Leffel explained. “That is with a caveat. I trust what the FDA is doing and if they approve it, then I will trust it.”
She also spoke to people who may be uninformed on what an approved vaccine could mean and why they should get one. Dr. Leffel directed those seeking more information to visit the FDA website (www.fda.gov).
To watch this Community Education Session in its entirety, visit the Botetourt County Government Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/botetourtcountyva.
