Altruism offers a path out of the pandemic

By Marc J. Kahn

Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Editor’s note: As he traditionally does every August, Brian Greenspun is turning over his Where I Stand column to others this month. In presenting this year’s series of columns from community leaders, we feel it is important that our readers, trying to emerge from the ravages of the pandemic, hear from some of the people who can help guide us to better tomorrows. Today’s guest is Dr. Marc J. Kahn, dean of UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine.

There is something uniquely human about the positive feelings we all experience when we do something good for someone else.

Although doing for others may not always be in our own self interest, our species has evolved to associate feeling good through helping others, as important for the overall survival of our population.

I sincerely believe that altruism will help end the pandemic.

For those who fear the COVID vaccines arrived too fast, you should know that although they were developed in less than a year, at a faster pace than we’ve ever seen, the science behind the vaccine is more than 30 years old.

A little medical background: In 1985, Katalin Karikó, a Hungarian immigrant, had the notion that mRNA, the “instruction sheet” for making proteins, could be used therapeutically to have cells make specific proteins that could produce an immune response. Dr. Karikó struggled to get her ideas to work. In 1998, she paired with Drew Weisman at the University of Pennsylvania to develop an mRNA vaccine for HIV. Using modified mRNA molecules, they were able to safely demonstrate that their technology worked. With the arrival of COVID in 2019, this pair were already working on an mRNA vaccine for influenza.

Moderna, an early manufacturer of a safe and effective COVID vaccine, was founded in 2010 to develop mRNA vaccine technology.

Similarly, BioNTech was established in 2008 to study the feasibility of mRNA vaccines. Karikó joined BioNTech in 2013 and soon after, Pfizer joined the collaboration to produce mRNA vaccines. With the arrival of the pandemic, both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech shifted their focus to COVID. Fortunately, the NIH had already sequenced the virus and were able to identify the important piece of genetic code to create proteins leading to an eventual immune response to COVID.

The U.S. government pushed to produce millions of doses, even before there was proof that the vaccine would be effective. Swiftly, safety and efficacy studies were completed and the vaccine became available without cost to millions of people.

The work of scientists, the government, health care professionals, and public health workers, is testament to the role altruism plays in the human species. Faced with a life-threatening crisis, people worked together to find a quick and effective solution.

Which brings us to the delta variant. Because viruses have less than perfect fidelity in replicating, mutations are common. The delta variant is of concern because it is more transmissible than typical COVID, the common cold, smallpox, influenza and even highly contagious chickenpox. Increased transmissibility means more people infected, more hospitalizations, and more deaths. Additionally, the delta variant may cause more severe disease, making it a leading cause of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals.

This is why wearing masks is critical to slow the pandemic. We need to minimize transmission of the virus between people, including those who have been vaccinated. Think about it, wearing a mask is altruistic because it helps protect not just yourself, but others. Let me be clear, until we are out of this, masking up will help prevent deaths in our community.

This brings us to vaccination. The available vaccines for COVID are both safe and effective, rating among the most effective vaccines we have ever produced. Certainly, these vaccines not only prevent COVID infections in the vast majority of vaccinated people, but they also reduce the spread of COVID to others, and save lives. Let’s continue this altruistic spirit and work together to get beyond the pandemic, regardless of political affiliation or creed.

So, if you have not already done so, get vaccinated! Getting vaccinated not only helps you, it helps others. Get vaccinated to prevent the spread of a virus that can and will kill people. Next, encourage others who are reluctant to get vaccinated. The scientific data is clear — the available vaccines are safe and effective.

Believe in altruism. Do a good deed today. Get vaccinated and feel good doing it. Encourage those reluctant to get vaccinated for our community, for our economy, and for our collective well-being. Only then can we expect to get back to a sense of normalcy that we have always enjoyed.