‘You can’t get COVID from this vaccine’
With the first shipments likely to hit Northwest Georgia soon, Dr. Gary Voccio encourages people to take the vaccine when it’s available.
As an advisory panel recommends allowing mass use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to help battle a continuing outbreak, Northwest Georgia’s regional health director said the science holds up.
“It seems to be very safe,” said Dr. Gary Voccio, director of the 10-county Northwest Georgia
Public Health District, which include Catoosa and Walker counties. “There are very few side effects — pain at the injection site, mild fatigue and potentially a fever.”
One important note, he said, “you can’t get COVID from this vaccine.”
That’s because of how it is made.
The vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna aren’t a weakened version of a live virus or a dead virus. It’s essentially a small amount of the virus’ messenger RNA that allows the body to recognize the virus as a foreign element.
Traditionally, making vaccines requires growing viruses or pieces of viruses — often in giant vats of cells or, like most flu shots, in chicken eggs — and then purifying them before administering the vaccine.
“4) We will fully fund the Secretary of State’s call to investigate out-of-state residents who attempt to move here for the sole purpose of voting in our run-off. We will make sure that these criminals are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“5) We call upon the Secretary of State to immediately release a certified list of all voters in the November 3, 2020 General Election and a certified list of all newly registered voters in Georgia from October 5-December 7, 2020.
“6) As soon as we may constitutionally convene, we will pass legislation to reverse the detrimental effects of the consent decree which was entered into in March 2020.
“7) As soon as we may constitutionally convene, we will reform our election laws to secure our electoral process by eliminating at-will absentee voting. We will require photo identification for absentee voting for cause, and we will crack down on ballot harvesting by outlawing drop boxes.
“Posterity and legitimacy of our Republic — guaranteed to us by our Constitution — require no less than our diligence, our time, and our utmost attention. Do not fall prey to the ploys of the Left, who would have you stay home and not exercise your right to vote on January 5, 2021. We cannot protect the Republic without you. Join the Senate Republican Caucus to ensure we get every possible legal vote cast in the run-off election. An overwhelming victory for our Senators and our Public Service Commissioner on January 5, 2021 will send a strong message!”