Author Archives: annickae

Reactogenicity

The inflammatory effects that a vaccine has on the body, shortly after injection, and the physical manifestation of that inflammation, is called it’s reactogenicity. A vaccine that makes a larger proportion of recipients feel acutely under the weather (for no more than 24-48 hours), or more intensely under the weather than another, is more reactogenic.Continue reading “Reactogenicity”

How do the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA-based vaccines work?

Only fair I make a post about our two leading mRNA-based COVID vaccines despite joining a little late to the game. Although, these two companies did just publish their Phase III data in the NEJM just this week so I’m going to say I’m right on time 👍🏼 In the coming weeks/months more of theContinue reading “How do the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA-based vaccines work?”

How does the Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Work?

Lots of talk surrounding the recent EUA approval of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine in the UK! Phase III trials are still underway in the US.  ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 delivers the DNA sequence encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein inside an Adenovirus capsid that has been stripped of its ability to replicate.  Study data from Brazil/South Africa/UK showsContinue reading “How does the Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Work?”

False Negatives and False Positives

False Negatives (-) and False Positives (+)! Any detection test (viral, hormone, antibody, etc.) has a limit of detection which defines how sensitive it is, and an inherent specificity which determines how much it will pick up antigens similar to, but not, the target. A more sensitive test will result in fewer false negatives -theContinue reading “False Negatives and False Positives”

Polymerase Chain Reaction

A quick summary of PCR – Polymerase Chain Reaction! You have likely heard of it lately in regards to one of the types of SARS-CoV-2 detection tests. PCR is used to help amplify the DNA molecule associated with the virus (or other target of interest) until there is enough to detect and/or quantify. This techniqueContinue reading “Polymerase Chain Reaction”