Despite some vocal attacks against vaccines, a poll conducted by Republican pollsters — including Donald Trump’s chief pollster — shows “that there is broad unity across party lines supporting vaccines such as measles (MMR), shingles, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (TDAP), and Hepatitis B.” NBC News reported that the poll results were made known to Republican politicians in a meeting just before Kennedy’s Senate hearing last week.
Data from FabrizioWard poll.
Vaccine companies’ stocks have been suffering this year amidst changing recommendations and public confusion; this poll provides clarity on public sentiment that could calm the vaccine controversy. The poll indicated that 85% of all voters agree that vaccines save lives, including 73% of Trump voters.
“In my opinion, it bodes well for various vaccine developers,” said David Dodd, CEO of GeoVax. “I was delighted to see the results of the poll.”
Dodd added that he wasn’t surprised by the results. “I think most people recognize the significant value relative to reducing the risk against various infectious diseases.”
The COVID divide
Although the poll indicated overall support for vaccines, voters were notably divided when it came to the COVID vaccine. While 91% of Harris voters agreed that it is important for people to get the COVID vaccine, only 22% of Trump voters agreed. Dodd attributed this divide to the lack of transparency around the COVID vaccines.
“They said, if you get this shot, you won’t get COVID. That’s not the case. And they said they last a year, and they last three to six months. I don’t think people were intentionally trying to be deceptive. I think they were probably much more hopeful than they had the data for,” Dodd said, “You need to be transparent, because otherwise people become frustrated.”
Dodd emphasized the importance of providing information about new vaccines to the public as well as to the physicians who administer them. “Make sure you don’t oversell it,” Dodd said. He added that it can take some time for side effects to show up, which can frustrate people who may have been told otherwise.
mRNA or multi-antigen?
mRNA vaccines can only use one component of a virus at a time, which is why they have to be continually updated as the virus progresses. These vaccines work by introducing mRNA from a laboratory to the bloodstream, where it can teach cells to make a protein that triggers an immune response to create antibodies.
After receiving the mRNA vaccine, one’s cells are able to make the spike protein that the virus uses to enter cells. The protein binds to the ACE2 receptor on the cell membrane, which is an enzyme that generates small proteins by cutting up a large protein, angiotensinogen. The small proteins generated by ACE2 regulate cell functions. The spike protein disrupts normal cell function and allows the virus to enter the cell.
The mRNA in the COVID vaccines instructs the body to produce a certain amount of the spike protein. This allows the immune system to create antibodies it can use to fight the virus.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID vaccines are mRNA vaccines, but there may be another option. Researchers are working on multiple antigen vaccines, which would allow them to combine different parts of the virus. As a result, these vaccines could last longer and be more resistant to the virus evolving.
Multiple antigen vaccines could also work for diseases like malaria and Ebola, Dodd said.
The benefit of mRNA vaccines is that they can be manufactured in large quantities very quickly, Dodd said, which is important in a pandemic. However, they only last 3 to 6 months and have to be updated as new strains emerge. Multiple antigen vaccines could address this problem.
The ACIP’s upcoming meeting
The ACIP is scheduled to meet later this week to vote on recommendations for the MMRV, Hepatitis B and COVID vaccines.
So far, the committee has removed recommendations for influenza vaccines containing thimerosal, a chemical falsely linked to autism. In addition, the FDA approved this year’s COVID vaccine only for adults older than 65 and people with a condition that puts them at high risk.
Dodd said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the committee votes to restrict recommendations for MMRV, Hepatitis B and COVID vaccines to older adults and people at high risk. He added that he hopes the vaccine recommendations will continue to be for all children.
Dodd said the main challenge for vaccine companies with these changing recommendations is on the business side. Either companies expect recommendations to roll back, and produce too little product, causing a shortage, or they expect recommendations to stay, and they produce too much product, causing a large amount of waste.
“Uncertainty always does a bunch of things. It creates confusion. It’s demotivating it. It hurts financial markets,” Dodd said.
Filed Under: Immunology, Infectious Disease
