From one of our colleagues :

I’m being asked what I think about an mRNA vaccine. It’s a brilliant strategy and the data appear to show efficacy and safety. I used to work for a pharmaceutical company and present data for FDA approval of drugs. I am familiar with the rooms full of paperwork and the multiple studies that go into approval.
What’s great is that this vaccine doesn’t rely on a killed virus or a part of a virus. It relies on mRNA. What is mRNA? It is just a transient, short-lived copy of a gene.  Consider that your body has this blueprint in its genes (in its DNA). The DNA tells the cells what proteins to make. But DNA is stuck in the cell nucleus and can’t go anywhere. So the cells make a copy of the gene, called “messenger RNA” or mRNA. (It’s just slightly different from the DNA so that the cells can tell the difference). This strand of mRNA gets sent the part of the cell where the protein will be made and the cell makes the proper protein based on this code. The mRNA, having served its purpose, gets destroyed in minutes or hours. The protein is also eventually destroyed.
Scientists have gotten a lot better over the years at figuring out this code and working with the mRNA. They isolated the mRNA for one particular protein on the COVID-causing virus, mostly commonly the “spike” protein that is important in infection. The vaccine contains mRNA that enters cells, gets made into the protein, the protein goes to the outside of cells, the immune system recognizes it as “foreign” and starts an immune response against it. The Spike protein doesn’t seem to cause damage. After all, it’s all by itself, lacking all of the other components of the virus that caused it to infect cells.
Once the body has started its immune response, it keeps some immune cells in reserve that recognize this Spike protein. Then, if the virus enters the body, its Spike protein gets recognized, the proper immune cells get made, and the body destroys the ability of the virus to cause infection.
This mRNA vaccine technology is relatively new but has been studied for a decade.  What is so promising is that there is no virus present, so there is no infection and since there is only one thing for the immune system to react against, it greatly reduces the chances of a hyper-immune reaction. Sometimes when the immune system is doing its thing, there are effects like aching from the increased blood flow, etc. but these symptoms can be signs that the process is working. These side effects are reported to be rare, short in duration and mild. But most importantly, the vaccines have shown extremely high efficacy in preventing infection.
I see absolutely no reason to not accept this vaccine. It has been shown to be highly effective and safe. For all you “You never know” types, safety concerns show up in trials. Many trials have been done.  I am not an insider, but CEOs and people on the front lines all say that the only “rush” has been in that they have made this vaccine a priority, the FDA has made it a  priority, and the companies have skipped over all the wrangling with management about the financial risk. I believe the reports that say that the science has not been rushed in the sense of skipping steps. The same FDA standards have been used as apply to all vaccines. Also, multiple companies using this approach have had very similar results. I plan to get the vaccine as soon as I can.
If you are someone who has concerns about vaccines, I would tell you that from a simple position of risk assessment, this COVID-causing virus has FAR FAR greater risk. It is one bad virus, has taken many of my friends and loved ones and has caused a planet-load of heartache and inconvenience. It has been relentless at using the body’s enzymes to make copies of itself and infect others. It contains a “proof-reading” enzyme that keeps its genes from mutating very much. Many viruses fade out because they accumulate so many mutations that gradually reduce the virus’ infective capabilities. Not this one. If you are fearful of a vaccine, my advice would be to weigh the risks. There are some unknowns, such as how long it will protect, but I don’t see these as obstacles. I am not qualified to give medical advice, but as a scientist, I am confident that the strategy is sound, the FDA has a robust procedure and that opposing the vaccine based on fear or ideology could harm yourself and others.

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Jim Taylor, Ph.D., Psychology is an internationally recognized authority on the psychology of performance, parenting, technology, and popular culture.

Background

Dr. Taylor has been a consultant for the United States and Japanese Ski Teams, the United States Tennis Association, and USA Triathlon, and has worked with professional and world-class athletes in tennis, skiing, cycling, triathlon, track and field, swimming, football, golf, baseball, fencing, and many other sports. He has been invited to lecture by the Olympic Committees of Spain, France, Poland, and the U.S., and has consulted with the Athletic Departments at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Taylor speaks regularly to elementary and secondary schools, parent and education associations, and youth-sports programs around the country. He has worked with the Miami City Ballet, the Hartford Ballet Company, and the DanceAspen Summer School, and performing artists in many disciplines.

Dr. Taylor has also worked extensively in the corporate world providing individual and group training to executives and businesses throughout the North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is a frequent speaker at Young Presidents’ Organization events internationally and a featured speaker for Natixis Global Associates, the 14th largest asset management company in the world.

Dr. Taylor blogs on sports, parenting, education, technology, and popular culture on this web site, as well as on huffingtonpost.com, and psychologytoday.com. His posts are aggregated by dozens of web sites worldwide and have been read by millions of people. Dr. Taylor also hosts three podcasts, From Crisis to Opportunity, Raising Young Athletes, and Train Your Mind for Athletic Success.

Dr. Taylor has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends, ABC’s World News This Weekend, UPN’s Life & Style, and the major television network affiliates around the U.S.. He has participated in many radio shows. Jim has been a columnist for The Denver Post, and has been interviewed for articles that have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The London Times, The Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, The London Telegraph, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, The Baltimore Sun, The Denver Post, Skiing, Outside, and many other newspapers and magazines. His a columnist for Saturday Evening Post and Triathlete.

Contact

Dr. Jim Taylor

Tel: +1.415.322.8425

Email: jim@drjimtaylor.com

Website. https://www.drjimtaylor.com/4.0

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www.ecofest.org Launched as an environmental event where people would get information, get involved, find products, learn about services and be entertained by people who care about the environment, ECOFEST started as a visionary effort for a better world. 24 years later it is still going strong supporting environmental causes and issues. ECOFEST is a cultural and educational environmental festival, free to the public, that is organized and produced by the West Side Cultural Center in New York. In its 24 year track record, ECOFEST has developed an unequaled base of public and private sector support and is a mainstay on the New York City calendar of events, bringing thousands of people to the historic NY locations including Central Park, Lincoln Center, The Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum, and now at the Solar 1 Space on the East River.

Museum. ECOFEST and its participants benefit from publicity, promotions and extensive advertising, and have always been generously covered by local and national media.

A major focus of ECOFEST is conservation of our natural resources and innovative alternative-energy technologies. This year’s ECOFEST will again feature the SEOTO (Sources of Energy Other Than Oil) Alternative Fuels Display which demonstrates a wide variety of alternative-energy vehicles – ranging from prototypes of solar cars to electric, natural-gas, hybrid, fuel cell and ethanol vehicles already in use by private businesses and many New York City and New York State Agencies. The vehicles stay on display with exciting demonstrations and activities scheduled throughout the day.

In addition to the SEOTO Display, ECOFEST regular features include the ECOFASHION SHOW on the World Solar Stage and the ECOFEST ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE with renowned experts. The ECOFASHION show presents collections made of 100% organic and recycled material and the Conference offers free seminars where key environmental issues are discussed.

Through dynamic exhibits, stimulating entertainment and celebrity performers and speakers ECOFEST fosters public awareness about opportunities for environmental change. It spurs people to take the initiative in making their homes, businesses and communities more ecologically advanced and environmentally sound, while encouraging education, inspiration, activism, membership and volunteering.

Throughout the years ECOFEST has had the support of major environmental organizations such as the New York Zoological Society, The Audubon Society, the United Nations Environmental Program, Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, The Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Alliance, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Council on the Environment. Major corporations and banks, such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Volvo, Toyota Motors, Lexus, Nissan, Brita, AT&T, IBM, BFI, Tom’s of Maine, Chase, International Paper; utilities and key government agencies, including the New York City Transit/MTA, NYC DOT, NYCDEP, Consolidated Edison, New York Power Authority, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey provide support for ECOFEST. The presence of all these enlightened organizations from the public and private sectors are brought together at ECOFEST to offer thousands of New Yorkers a unique opportunity to learn of their environmental message.

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