MHM Magazine

Issue 4 | 2021 | MENTALHEALTHMATTERS | 21 MHM A s the national South African COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, misinformation about safety and efficacy is rife. Experts in medicine and ethics look at the science behind vaccines and how the pandemic, and the rollout, make us feel and behave. THE SCIENCE OF VACCINES (DR JUNO THOMAS) Antibodies are a crucial part of the immune defence system. People who have been vaccinated in childhood have a variety of existing antibodies for a range of pathogens. When a new pathogen or disease enters our body, it introduces a new antigen. For every new antigen, the body needs to build a new and specific antibody, explains Dr Juno Thomas, Head of the Centre for Enteric Diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. “An antigen is any part of the virus that the immune system recognises as being foreign and threatening.” This is the key ingredient in a vaccine. Vaccines introduce a tiny fragment of the antigen so that our body’s immune system learns to recognise it and build a specific antibody. Cell memory means that we are protected if we are ever exposed to or infected with the real organism. Presented by Dr Juno Thomas, Prof Lucy Allais, & Pierre Brouard for the Healthcare Workers Care Network COVID VACCINES: SHINING A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS Science & Ethical Principles Associated with the COVID-19 Vaccine