Current Event 11

 Caroline Hulbert                                  1.15.21

AP Bio C Even                                 Current Event 11

Garcia de Jesus, Erin. “Could Delaying a Second Vaccine Dose Lead to More Dangerous Coronavirus Strains?” Science News, 15 Jan. 2021, www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-delay-second-dose-dangerous-strains. 

For this current event, I chose to read and review Erin Garcia de Jesus’ article, titled “Could Delaying a Second Vaccine Dose Lead to More Dangerous Coronavirus Strains?”. She begins the article by discussing the debate that has sparked as a result of rising coronavirus cases and slow vaccine rollout. There are multiple temporary solutions to this problem, though the best course of action is being debated. One of these ideas is delaying the rollout of the second dose of the vaccine so that more people can receive a first dose of what is currently available. This would extend the time between doses from 3-4 weeks to around 3 months. However, health officials in the United States strongly advise that states continue with the plan authorized by the FDA: two shots spaced a few weeks apart. After Joe Biden suggested that he would release all shots, the Trump Administration announced that it would no longer be holding back second rounds of the vaccine. This may lead to manufacturing problems and increases the chances that people will not receive their second shots on time. Experts are concerned that if people gain only partial immunity from one vaccine, they may create an ideal environment for more harmful mutations of the virus to arise. Ramón Lorenzo-Redondo, a virologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, states that “we shouldn’t gamble our best tools to fight the pandemic.” Additionally, if immune-dodging variants do arise as a result of shot delays, the vaccine’s effectiveness could be compromised, preventing vaccine-induced antibodies from binding to the virus. 

This article is extremely relevant to society as the coronavirus continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people. Having this information available to the public is especially important to people who distrust the vaccine, and will refuse to receive it. Additionally it provides the different points of view about which path to take in vaccine rollout. 

This article was very well-written and informative about current issues. The author included opinions from numerous health experts about the best course of action in this situation. While very well-written, I thought that the review was a bit long and repetitive. Some of the information was not necessary or repeated multiple times. Making the article more concise would make it more appealing to a wider audience and easier to read.