
48. COVID Vaccines with Dr. Daniela Weiskopf
Episode Summary
While people across the country are lining up for the vaccines, many folks still have questions about how the vaccines work, whether they’re safe and if they’ll be effective against emerging COVID variants. Here to talk to us about all of Daniela Weiskopf, Ph.D., a brilliant researcher at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Dr. Weiskopf has devoted her career to understanding the immune system’s response to viral pathogens and spent the last thirteen years studying infectious viruses relevant to human health and disease. Most recently she’s focused her efforts on COVID-19 to help understand how we can defeat this deadly disease.
Key Takeaways To Tune In For
- [02:00] What got Dr. Weiskopf interested in studying COVID19
- [03:45] What is so unique about the coronavirus and the way it spreads so quickly
- [5:30] The more the virus spreads from person to person, the more it will mutate
- [07:30] What technology is used in the covid vaccines
- [10:30] How long are you immune to the virus when you get the vaccine
- [11:45] Is the vaccine safe
- [14:45] Does the vaccine change your DNA
- [17:30] Is the vaccine safe for pregnant women
- [18:45] Will the vaccines be effective on other variants
- [21:30] Is there research being done on parts of the virus that don’t mutate as fast
- [24:30] Is having a response after you get the vaccine a good thing
- [26:41] Will the coronavirus vaccine eventually need multiple types of vaccines in one syringe
- [28:00] Does this virus surprise researchers in the way people react to it
- [29:45] Dr. Weiskopf’s message of hope
- [31:45] How effective is the vaccine, and can you still get infected
- [33:15] Why we need two doses
- [34:18] How long does it take for your body to my protected after the vaccine
- [34:50] Dr. Weiskopf’s parting words
Resources talked about in this episode
- Guest website – www.lji.org
Visit our social media for more information
49. Western Diet and Inflammation
Tell me what your diet’s like and I can tell you where your health is headed. One of the largest determinants of health is what you put in your mouth day after day, year after year. It’s more predictive than genetics, and it’s something you can control. Today I will talk to you about the Western Diet, it’s catastrophic health impacts, how it compares to the ancestral, Paleolithic diet, and what you can do to change your future by changing your diet.
50. Policing as a Public Health Issue with Dr. Frank Edwards
On May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Even after no pulse could be detected, the officer continued kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than two additional minutes. This tragic death joined a long list of black Americans who have been disproportionately killed by police, including those that have made the news like Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others who haven’t. Helping us to understand the health impact policing has on people of color and their communities is Dr. Frank Edwards, a Sociologist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Criminology at Rutgers University.
51. Toxic Metals, Your Hidden Health Hazard
Toxic metals, sometimes called heavy metals, include mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and other metals that are naturally occurring in the earth’s crust. They’ve been used by humans for thousands of years and are the oldest toxins known. Metal toxicity—especially from heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead–affects all organ systems and can result in wide-ranging and nonspecific symptoms; however, the central nervous system (CNS) is especially susceptible to damage from metals. But they don’t just affect your central nervous system. Toxic metals are systemic toxins that in high enough amounts damage your kidneys, blood, brain, bones, and other organs.