Journal Reflection 7-3
IHP 600
Southern New Hampshire University
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In the 1796, the world’s first vaccine was introduced by Edward Jenner to treat
smallpox (Stern & Markel, 2005). Since then, many different vaccines have been developed
throughout the years to tackle different types of viruses, bacterial infections, etc. According
to the CDC, vaccines are the inactivated version of germs that causes diseases that are
usually used to prevent the disease. Vaccines stimulate the immune system to produce
antibodies, which would ordinarily be produced if a person if exposed to that disease. After
being vaccinated, immunity to that disease is developed without having to get the disease
the first (CDC, 2012). The World Health Organization states that vaccination is one of the
most effective ways to prevent diseases. (WHO, n.d.)
In the article, “Programming Immunity: Defense to Offense,” the author discusses
new scientific breakthroughs to tackle diseases using vaccines. One of the breakthroughs
this article discusses is of gene therapy in which researchers successfully modified a
patient’s own T-cell to fight off tumors. They did this by “inserting a gene that re-
programmed them to recognize cancer cells as invaders. Not only was the therapy
successful for fighting the tumors, but the modified cells persisted in the patients’
bloodstreams, promising to fight the leukemia cells even if they reappeared” (Avery, 2011).
This is one of many breakthroughs that occurred over the years to help improve a patient’s
life.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal agency within
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that “protects the public health by
assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines, and
other biological products for human use, and medical devices” (FDA, 2022). A new vaccine
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will undergo a rigorous review of lab and clinical date to ensure safety, purity, and
effectiveness of the vaccine (FDA, 2022). Even though we have all these federal agencies
regulating our food and medications to make sure they are safe for us, I would still be
slightly hesitant to be one of the first individuals to try a new vaccine. The discussion of
vaccines has become very popular within the past two years since the Coronavirus vaccine
has been available to us. Even if you type “virus, vaccine, or Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR)” the first thing that always generates on a Google web browser are hundreds of
different Coronavirus links.
As a medical student and a fellow researcher, I have learned to filter out all the
useless articles and stick to peer reviewed published journals from actual clinical cases that
have been studied and presented to us in the medical field. When the COVID-19 vaccine
was first made available to us, I was so ecstatic as to finally the pandemic coming to an
end. I did not see anything wrong with getting the vaccine especially since I am an avid
believer on being up to date with all vaccines and getting yearly flu shots. I did my
research, and everything was pointing to the vaccine being safe and effective, but
unfortunately that did not work well in my case. I decided on being the first in my family
to receive the COVID vaccine because I wanted to be a part of a solution and show my
family there wasn’t anything for them to worry about. I am a perfectly healthy young adult
who has an active lifestyle and getting the new vaccine would only help build my
immunity. I was wrong.
When I received my first dose, within the few days I started to have chest pain near
my heart. I thought it was a normal side effect to the vaccine and it would be gone in a
few days, but that wasn’t the case. It has been a little over a year and a half and I still
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have those sharp chest pains. I have gone to numerous cardiologists to find an answer, but
no one seems to have one for me except for the fact that I have mild inflammation near my
heart and sternum which was most likely caused by the vaccine. Till this day, I still have
no answer or treatment, but I have decided to live with it. I know many individuals would
argue that I did the right thing, but no one knows the pain I have to suffer. Everyone is
just worried whether I am vaccinated against COVID-19, but not about the mental and
emotional trauma it has cost me. When it comes to deciding whether I would want to be
the first individual to try a vaccine, my answer would be “I would think twice before
deciding” aa due to personal experience.
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References
1. Stern, Alexandra Minna and Markel, Howard. The History of Vaccines and
Immunization: Familiar Patterns, New Challenges Health Affairs 2005 24:3, 611-621
2. World Health Organization. (n.d.). Vaccines. http://www.who.int/topics/vaccines/en/
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Vaccines and Preventable
Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/vpd-vac-basics.html
4. Avery, M. L. (2011, Aug 19). Programming Immunity: Defense to Offense.
Retrieved from https://www.iftf.org/future-now/article-detail/programming-immunity-
defense-to-offense/
5. aa FDA. (2022). Vaccines. Retrieved from: http://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-
biologics/vaccines
