I was watching CNN, last week, with the sound off, because it’s what I do, all the time, and Dr. Fauci was answering viewer questions about the vaccine.
I wondered, “Can I even take it? I can only take dead virus vaccines. Is RNA live or dead?”
And just at that moment the closed captioning answered me. Here it is from the transcript.
LEMON: Let me follow up on this, because are there preexisting conditions, Dr. Fauci, that would preclude someone from getting this vaccine?
FAUCI: Well, actually not. I mean, if you — if you were — if this were a live, attenuated vaccine, which is one that would replicate a bit in you, you would be concerned that, if someone had an immunosuppressed disease, a disease that either alters and suppresses the immune system or a medication that you were on that suppressed the immune system, you would be reluctant to have someone have a live attenuated vaccine …
I thought, “Reluctant? I’m game for anything, but my doctor says I can only get a dead vaccine.”
Dr Fauci, employing his trans-continental psychic abilities, answered me.
… But when you have a vaccine that is essentially a protein, namely, a gene that codes for the particular protein, in this case, the spike protein, an underlying condition might mean you don’t get as robust a response, but it’s not a contraindication, so that you should not get the vaccine.
I thought, “Well, that’s a little obtuse. Are you saying I can take it, even though it won’t do me that much good?”
GUPTA: And so, for example, someone who’s got a weakened immune system or is immunocompromised, is that what you’re referring to, Dr. Fauci, that it wouldn’t necessarily be unsafe?
FAUCI: That’s — yes.
GUPTA: They may just not get a — the same response?
FAUCI: Exactly. Exactly, Sanjay. You have to separate safety and the likelihood that you will get a good response to the vaccine. It is not unsafe for someone who has an immunodeficiency to get vaccinated. They may not, in fact, make as robust an immune response. But, in my mind, it’s better than not getting vaccinated at all.
So, now that Dr. Fauci made that decision for me, I thought I should look at when I would be getting my vaccine, and what documentation I might need to bring to prove I’m in the immune-compromised category.
I’m in Phase 1B, so I’m up several weeks after “mid-December,” which seems to me would be today. As for the documentation, Missouri will be using the honor system when it comes to saying you are at risk. Right now I can think of several people who will be lying.