This episode debuts on February 24, 2021. As of that date, roughly 65 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, with an average of 1.28 million doses administered every day.

There are those with fears and concerns about the vaccine, some of them totally justified and normal, some that are pretty far-fetched. What I seek to do in my own little corner of the internet is contribute positively wherever I can to enhance knowledge and quell fear. That’s why I was thrilled when John Connelly introduced me to his cousin who wanted to come on my show and talk about the COVID-19 vaccine specifically, and immunology in general.

Brendan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Colorado Anschutz specializing in immunology. His primary work concerns Type 1 Diabetes, but as a trained immunologist, he has studied the vaccine, received both doses of the vaccine through participation in a trial, and lends his scientific insight into the vaccine’s safety and development. I ask him point blank two questions I’ve heard espoused as concerns: 1) Are you injected with live virus when you receive the COVID-19 vaccine? and 2) How can we trust something that was developed this quickly? I found the answers to each question both fascinating and satisfactory in earning my confidence.

I hope you get as much out of this episode as I did, and I encourage you whenever the vaccine becomes available for you to take it. When doing research on scientific topics, I also encourage you to take Brendan’s advice and use Google Scholar. That will link you to nothing but peer-reviewed journal articles (something we touch on during this episode a great deal), and not some asshole’s stupid YouTube video.

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