Pounders early week closure rescheduled for this next Monday and Tuesday, PLUS this week’s Safety Corner
Submitted by: Pauahi Soon, Front Manager, Pounders Restaurant and Elder Tom Davis, Safety Coordinator
The First Presidency …released an official statement [January 2021} urging church members to “help quell the pandemic by safeguarding themselves and others through immunization” because “vaccinations administered by competent medical professionals protect health and preserve life.”
How COVID-19 mRNA vaccines work
Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a molecule that provides cells with instructions for making proteins. mRNA vaccines contain the instructions for making the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This protein is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The mRNA molecule is essentially a recipe, telling the cells of the body how to make the spike protein.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are given by injection, usually into the muscle of the upper arm.
After the protein piece is made, the cell breaks down the instructions and gets rid of them. The mRNA never enters the central part (nucleus) of the cell, which is where our DNA (genetic material) is found. Your DNA can’t be altered by mRNA vaccines.
The cell then displays the protein piece on its surface. Our immune system recognizes that the protein doesn’t belong there and begins building an immune response and making antibodies.
mRNA vaccine safety
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are held to the same high standards for safety, effectiveness and quality as all vaccines authorized for use. Only vaccines that meet those standards can be approved.
Once approved, we continue to monitor all vaccines for safety and effectiveness in people.
We have a strong monitoring system for drug safety. Anyone who witnesses or experiences a side effect to a vaccine is strongly encouraged to report it to their health care provider.
Health care providers must report adverse events following immunization to their local public health authority. The public health authority then reports them to the Public Health Agency.
The science behind the COVID-19 vaccines was not rushed. If anything, the story behind them—and the decades of research within that story—is remarkable. To read the entire article, go to: The long road to mRNA vaccines – CIHR (cihr-irsc.gc.ca)