Spectrum doctor: All signs point to ‘very safe’ COVID-19 vaccines (10 December 2020, for {EMAIL})

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A coronavirus vaccine is being administered overseas and emergency use approval in the U.S. is pending. So what's the process to get it? How long does it take to become effective? What are some of the side effects? The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use new mRNA technology that has never been used in humans before. It's a landmark achievement in the field of medicine. The advancements necessary to make it possible only existed in the last few years. "I would consider messenger RNA technology or vaccines to be a huge game changer," Dr. Liam Sullivan, an infectious disease physician at Spectrum Health, said. The side effects aren't expected to be much different than what we've seen in the past: temporary arm pain and maybe a slight fever. "Because it releases chemicals and those chemicals that the immune system releases is what gives you those symptoms," Sullivan said. "They usually go away within one to 24 hours and they are rarely, if ever, very serious." The federal Food and Drug Administration says Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective after just one dose. The Moderna vaccine requires two shots spaced a few weeks apart, with the second shot acting as an immunity booster. "People still had a pretty good level of protection from it," Sullivan said. "They didn't get severely ill. The vaccine should start to work right away, it just ideally needs two injections to really provide the optimum amount of protection." The doctor has heard of people trying to shake public confidence in the vaccines, saying this new mRNA technology is unsafe, with some even saying it will change the recipient's DNA. Sullivan said such claims are both unfounded and outrageous because that's not how RNA works. "Anybody who is peddling that this is going to change our genetic makeup, that is completely false and flies in the face of what we know about human genetics," he said. Before a drug gets FDA approval, it also has to get approved from an independent panel to ensure it has met every safety standard. "They are not going to allow this to be used in human subjects unless it's safe and I think that everything right now points towards it being very safe and I think that is going to continue to be the case even after we deploy it into the population," Sullivan said. "Spectrum Health eagerly awaits a decision from the FDA on emergency use authorization for the first COVID-19 vaccine. We’ve had a team working for months to ensure we have the capabilities to receive, store, distribute and administer vaccines when they become available. We have several freezers in place throughout our health system to accommodate the storage needs associated with the vaccine. We are partnering with health systems and health departments in our region, as well as MDHHS, to ensure a coordinated approach. We’ll be following the guidance and direction of the CDC and FDA as this process continues. We are hopeful and optimistic about the promise a vaccine offers in controlling COVID-19 in our communities." Spectrum Health Daily digest [Spectrum doctor: All signs point to ‘very safe’ COVID-19 vaccines]( [Spectrum doctor: All signs point to ‘very safe’ COVID-19 vaccines]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A coronavirus vaccine is being administered overseas and emergency use approval in the U.S. is pending. So what's the process to get it? How long does it take to become effective? What are some of the side effects? 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