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 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
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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 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
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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” f due to personal experience.
References
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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. f FDA. (2022). Vaccines. Retrieved from: http://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-
biologics/vaccines
