What Do We Know About COVID-19 Vaccinations, the Delta Variant, and Onesimus?

As many U.S. states re-open or have already re-opened from COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) restrictions, it’s important to take a step back to review information to get a big picture view of the U.S. moving forward. There were many unknowns with the novel coronavirus in the early months of the pandemic, but medical and research experts have built a knowledge base about the COVID-19 virus and vaccines. Here’s a look at early U.S. immunization history, the significance of COVID-19 vaccinations, the Delta variant, and Onesimus.

An Enslaved Man and Immunization in the Colonial U.S.

Many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities have a history of mistrust of health providers due to mistreatment like the Tuskegee experiment and systemic inequities. But an important figure in the U.S. history of immunization was a Black man in 1721. In colonial Boston, an enslaved man originally from West Africa named Onesimus introduced the concept of an early form of immunization – known as variolation. Variolation was used by people of Africa and colonial slaves from Africa. The inoculation effort that followed from the advice of Onesimus took the pus from smallpox blisters of infected patients and inserted a small amount into an intentional cut in the skin to build immunity against potential infection. A doctor named Zabdiel Boylston heard the advice and inoculated his son and slaves using the method recommended by Onesimus. Of the 40 people who were inoculated by the method, only one died, and the method was also used to help reduce the number of smallpox cases in the Continental Army.

Why Are COVID-19 Vaccines Important?

Getting COVID-19 vaccinations is important to prevent the spread of the virus, development of additional variants, and to protect those who are unable to get vaccinated. As COVID-19 continues to spread across the U.S., the virus mutates to create new variants. The Delta variant has demonstrated that it is both more contagious and more severe than previous variants. This particular variant has also shown that it spreads more rapidly in areas of the U.S. where COVID-19 vaccination rates are on the lower end of the spectrum.

According to an analysis, nearly all U.S. COVID-19 deaths occurring currently are among unvaccinated individuals — whether by choice or by an inability to get vaccinated due to medical conditions or being too young to receive a vaccine. Fully vaccinated individuals, on the other hand, have a substantially lower risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Those who previously had COVID-19 infection may have immunity, but the Delta variant has demonstrated that it is wilier and can still infect those with natural immunity at a higher rate than those who are fully vaccinated.

What Is mRNA Technology and Who Was It Tested On?

Contrary to what some may think, messenger RNA (mRNA) technology was under development for over a decade before COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna both use mRNA technology for their mechanism of action. Vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines instruct immune cells to create a protein that appears on the cell’s surface. After the immune system doesn’t recognize the protein, it starts an immune response and creates antibodies against the protein. This information about the protein is then stored in the body and triggers an immune response if the COVID-19 virus is encountered. Though breakthrough cases of infection have occurred, these cases have been at a low rate, and the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have a high success rate of preventing severe infections that require hospitalization.

For BIPOC people who may be concerned about the number of BIPOC clinical trial participants for the vaccines, a substantial number of participants were involved. The Pfizer trial included about 4,000 Black Americans, Hispanic or Latina/Latino/Latinx comprised about 11,000 participants, and about 5 percent of the study participants were Asian Americans.

Now that more information is known about the COVID-19 and vaccinations, people can make more informed decisions about getting vaccinated. Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world have received the vaccinations that help prevent severe infection with COVID-19 and that aid in prevention of new variants of the virus from emerging. Even if you or a loved one has not personally been significantly impacted by the virus, could getting vaccinated be worth it to help protect those who cannot receive a vaccine and to reduce further spread and additional variants? We will continue to track progress of the vaccines and report back as the U.S. moves forward.

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Sources

Sherita Hill Golden, MD, MHS. COVID-19 Vaccines and People of Color. Johns Hopkins Medicine website. Accessed June 30, 2021. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid19-vaccines-and-people-of-color

Carla K. Johnson, Mike Stobbe. Nearly all COVID deaths in US are now among unvaccinated. Associated Press website. Accessed June 30, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-941fcf43d9731c76c16e7354f5d5e187

Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Accessed June 30, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html

Black History Month: Onesimus Spreads Wisdom That Saves Lives of Bostonians During a Smallpox Epidemic. The History of Vaccines: An Educational Resource by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Accessed June 30, 2021. https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/onesimus-smallpox-boston-cotton-mather