Page developed December 11, 2020
Information for Teachers
Students, through the items below, you will learn about the Covid-19 vaccine. This may be information to share with your parents, to use in conversation with friends, and to help you and your family make informed decisions about whether you want to be vaccinated. Your teacher will determine the scoring, if any, for these assignments.
Information for Teachers
Students, through the items below, you will learn about the Covid-19 vaccine. This may be information to share with your parents, to use in conversation with friends, and to help you and your family make informed decisions about whether you want to be vaccinated. Your teacher will determine the scoring, if any, for these assignments.
Teachers, discuss with your students who has been vaccinated? Against what have they been vaccinated? Who has gotten a flu shot? What was their experience? What have they heard about vaccines? What questions do your students have about vaccines? What have they heard about the Covid-19 vaccine? Do they want to be vaccinated against this condition?
|
I. What are vaccines? How did they originate?
As you watch the video, fill in the blanks.
1. Vaccines originated in ____________ Asia and ____________ as people sought to stop the spread of ____________.
2. A technique called ____________ was performed by placing fluid from an infected person’s smallpox bumps under the skin of a healthy person. This method did cause a smallpox infection, but it was not as ___________ as a full smallpox infection AND it gave the person ____________ immunity.
3. This technique was viewed with much ____________, although smallpox killed ____________ Europeans per year.
4. In 1796, Dr. ____________________ showed that ____________ could prevent _____________ because the human immune system couldn’t tell the difference. Jenner intentionally exposed a child to cowpox, but he didn’t develop a major infection. Jenner later exposed the boy to ___________ and he didn’t get very sick.
5. The word vaccine comes from the word ___________ which means ___________.
6. Other vaccines now prevent ____________, ____________, _____________, and ____________, Vaccines have dramatically ____________ the number of cases of these illnesses.
7. What questions do you now have about vaccines?
1. Vaccines originated in ____________ Asia and ____________ as people sought to stop the spread of ____________.
2. A technique called ____________ was performed by placing fluid from an infected person’s smallpox bumps under the skin of a healthy person. This method did cause a smallpox infection, but it was not as ___________ as a full smallpox infection AND it gave the person ____________ immunity.
3. This technique was viewed with much ____________, although smallpox killed ____________ Europeans per year.
4. In 1796, Dr. ____________________ showed that ____________ could prevent _____________ because the human immune system couldn’t tell the difference. Jenner intentionally exposed a child to cowpox, but he didn’t develop a major infection. Jenner later exposed the boy to ___________ and he didn’t get very sick.
5. The word vaccine comes from the word ___________ which means ___________.
6. Other vaccines now prevent ____________, ____________, _____________, and ____________, Vaccines have dramatically ____________ the number of cases of these illnesses.
7. What questions do you now have about vaccines?
II. What is Immunity?
Answer the questions after watching the video above.
1. What is the Immune System?
2. Which body cells make up the immune system?
3. If a virus, such as the flu (influenza) enters the body, the immune cells get "_________" and replicate (make copies of themselves) to release germ-killing agents called _______________ that mark the germs for ______________.
4. Once the germ is gone, the immune response stops, but leaves behind ____________ cells that remember the invader in case it appears again.
5. The first immune response can take a ______________, but the next time, the immune response can happen in 1 ______. As the immune cells mount their defense, you may feel the effects (fever, body aches, tiredness, etc.) but because the threat is low, you don't get sick from a full scale infection.
Relate what you learned in this video to the previous video.
6. A bit of fluid from a smallpox bump can trigger the immune cells to get _____________ and _____________ releasing germ-killing agents called ______________ that mark the smallpox virus particles for _____________. Once the immune system has rid the body of the smallpox virus, ______________ remain in case smallpox viruses try to invade the body again.
7. Why might someone opt for a vaccine rather than the actual virus?
8. Some viruses change their configuration regularly preventing the immune system from recognizing it. The different configurations of the same virus are called strains. For this reason, a vaccine may only protect against a single strain. A different strain of the virus could still infect the person. This is why we must get a flu shot (influenza vaccine) each year to be protected against that year's flu. If you were vaccinated against the flu in 2016, are you still immune to that strain of the flu?
Explain.
1. What is the Immune System?
2. Which body cells make up the immune system?
3. If a virus, such as the flu (influenza) enters the body, the immune cells get "_________" and replicate (make copies of themselves) to release germ-killing agents called _______________ that mark the germs for ______________.
4. Once the germ is gone, the immune response stops, but leaves behind ____________ cells that remember the invader in case it appears again.
5. The first immune response can take a ______________, but the next time, the immune response can happen in 1 ______. As the immune cells mount their defense, you may feel the effects (fever, body aches, tiredness, etc.) but because the threat is low, you don't get sick from a full scale infection.
Relate what you learned in this video to the previous video.
6. A bit of fluid from a smallpox bump can trigger the immune cells to get _____________ and _____________ releasing germ-killing agents called ______________ that mark the smallpox virus particles for _____________. Once the immune system has rid the body of the smallpox virus, ______________ remain in case smallpox viruses try to invade the body again.
7. Why might someone opt for a vaccine rather than the actual virus?
8. Some viruses change their configuration regularly preventing the immune system from recognizing it. The different configurations of the same virus are called strains. For this reason, a vaccine may only protect against a single strain. A different strain of the virus could still infect the person. This is why we must get a flu shot (influenza vaccine) each year to be protected against that year's flu. If you were vaccinated against the flu in 2016, are you still immune to that strain of the flu?
Explain.
III. How do we know a vaccine has caused immunity?
As you watch the video, fill in the blanks of the statements below.
1. There are 2 main goals of a Covid-19 Vaccine:
a. It must be ___________ to administer.
b. It must ___________ against the pathogen (virus).
-Does it produce a significant _____________ response?
-Does it __________ the chance of getting the disease it's supposed to protect against?
2. Once a potential vaccine is developed, ____________ are the first organisms to be injected with it. Scientists observe the mice for ____ ________, including _____________.
-Blood samples are taken that measure the number of ______________ (which will result in _____________).
-Mice are also tested to see if they get the disease if they are exposed.
-If efficacy is shown, the vaccine moves on to _____________ which involve injecting ______________.
-____________ adults are typically chosen for clinical trials.
3. There are 3 phases of clinical trails.
-Phase I - a few _____________ people are injected with the vaccine at different dosages.
This helps to determine the best dose to generate the desired immune response, and any _____________ that may occur.
-Phase II - a few ____________ people are injected with the vaccine.
The goal is to determine if the vaccine produces a ______________ immune response.
-Phase III - a few _____________ people are injected with the vaccine. Phase III data can take months or years to compile.
-Two big questions the trials seek to answer are:
Did anyone who was vaccinated get __________?
If so, how ___________ were the symptoms?
-If the vaccine data shows significant efficacy, it can be submitted for ______________ and ______________.
4. On December 10, 2020, a panel of doctors representing the US Food and Drug Administration voted to authorize the use of the Covid-19 vaccine for individuals 16 and over, produced by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Based on what you know about how the trials work, what are your thoughts about this vaccine? See article for more information.
1. There are 2 main goals of a Covid-19 Vaccine:
a. It must be ___________ to administer.
b. It must ___________ against the pathogen (virus).
-Does it produce a significant _____________ response?
-Does it __________ the chance of getting the disease it's supposed to protect against?
2. Once a potential vaccine is developed, ____________ are the first organisms to be injected with it. Scientists observe the mice for ____ ________, including _____________.
-Blood samples are taken that measure the number of ______________ (which will result in _____________).
-Mice are also tested to see if they get the disease if they are exposed.
-If efficacy is shown, the vaccine moves on to _____________ which involve injecting ______________.
-____________ adults are typically chosen for clinical trials.
3. There are 3 phases of clinical trails.
-Phase I - a few _____________ people are injected with the vaccine at different dosages.
This helps to determine the best dose to generate the desired immune response, and any _____________ that may occur.
-Phase II - a few ____________ people are injected with the vaccine.
The goal is to determine if the vaccine produces a ______________ immune response.
-Phase III - a few _____________ people are injected with the vaccine. Phase III data can take months or years to compile.
-Two big questions the trials seek to answer are:
Did anyone who was vaccinated get __________?
If so, how ___________ were the symptoms?
-If the vaccine data shows significant efficacy, it can be submitted for ______________ and ______________.
4. On December 10, 2020, a panel of doctors representing the US Food and Drug Administration voted to authorize the use of the Covid-19 vaccine for individuals 16 and over, produced by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Based on what you know about how the trials work, what are your thoughts about this vaccine? See article for more information.
The rest is for middle and high school students only...
unless you are an elementary school student who likes a challenge!
Below you will find a screenshot from the actual document Pfizer submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for review and approval. The whole document is 53 pages long, but below are a few important segments. It looks hard to read, but it's not!
The entire report maybe found at https://www.fda.gov/media/144245/download
|
1. What is an EUA? 2. We say "Coronavirus" and "Covid-19," and "the rona," but what is the scientific name of the virus? 3. How much of the vaccine serum is recommended? (be specific) 4. Did this vaccine undergo 3 phases of clinical trials? How many people were tested? Note: "double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial of BNT162b2" In this report, the vaccine is abbreviated as BNT162b2. Double Blind and placebo-controlled means...44,000 people were injected, but not all of them were injected with the actual vaccine. Some were injected with a saltwater solution, but none of the 44,000 know which they were injected with. This is done because some people, if they know they have been vaccinated will behave differently putting themselves at greater risk of infection which could cause the results to have bias. 5. The phase 3 clinical trial data showed that 7 days after the 2 doses of vaccine ____ of those who received BNT162b2 tested positive for Covid-19. Of those who received the placebo _____ tested positive for Covid-19. 6. Approximately how much time was there between the doses of vaccine? 7. What were the most common side effects? Was death a side effect for any of the participants? 8. What are your thoughts about the vaccine after reading this? |
This video offers more detail about this vaccine as an mRNA vaccine, a fairly new technology.
|
Before are a few questions to ponder (or answer in your Science notebook if your teacher says so) as you watch.
|
1. 44,000 people signed up for the phase 2/3 clinical trial, but only 37,586 received a shot. How many (n) received BNT162b2? How many received the placebo?
2. Of the people in the BNT162n2 group who ranged in age from 18 to 65 years old, what was the average (mean) age? 3. Of the people in the placebo group who ranged in age from 16 to 18 years old, how many were female? 4. Of the people in the phase 2/3 trials how many were Hispanic or Latino? What percent of the people were Hispanic or Latino? 5. How many of the 37,586 people did not answer the question about ethnicity? 6. What percent of the people in the phase 2/3 trials were obese or overweight (combined)? 7. How many of the people who received BNT162b2 tested positive for the virus prior to the clinical trial? |
How does examining the demographic info affect your thoughts about the vaccine?
Phase 3 Trail Participants were tested for Covid-19 one week after their second dose of the vaccine.
1. What is efficacy?
2. How many of the participants from 16-55 years old who were given the BNT162b2 shot tested positive for Covid-19? ______ How about those over 55 years old? _______ 3. How many of the participants from 16-55 years old who were given the placebo shot tested positive for Covid-19? _______ How about those over 55 years old? ______ 4. What efficacy percentage does this data mean for the BNT162b2 vaccine? _______ |
Further study of the efficacy of the BNT162b2 vaccine extended for 119 days after the first dose of vaccine. The line graph below shows the incidence of positive Covid-19 tests for those who received the vaccine in blue and those who received the placebo in red. For those who tested positive, if they also had to be hospitalized, their square is filled in with S to indicate that it was severe.
1. At a glance, were there more positive tests from those who received the vaccine or those who received the placebo? -Why does this make sense? 2. By day 70, how many severe cases of Covid had occurred in the placebo group? ______ In the vaccine group? ______ 3. How would this type of data have been obtained? How does this data make you feel about the efficacy of the vaccine? |
The chart below shows the side effects reported by the study participants.
1. In layman's terms, we say "side effects," but the report calls those occurrences that may be attributed to the vaccine _________ _________ and abbreviates them as AEs. 2. Normal human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Convert this temperature to Celsius. Use this formula. (F -32) x.55 = C 3. What is 38 degrees Celsius in degrees Fahrenheit? Use this formula. C x1.8 +32 =F 4. How many people experienced a fever less than or equal to of 38.0 degrees Celsius in the vaccine group after dose 1? _______ In the placebo group? _______ after dose 2 _______ In the placebo group? _______ 5. List, in order, from the most to least adverse events for the vaccine group after dose 2. 6. List, in order, from the most to least, adverse events for the placebo group after dose 2. 7. Overall, did more participants experience adverse events following dose 1 or dose 2? 8. Why do you think the placebo group experienced adverse events? How does this data compared with the vaccine group help scientists to analyze this data? |
So, what do you think?
You may not be 16 years old, so unable to take the Covid-19 vaccine,
but what do you think of the way it has been studied?
How will you share what you have learned with your parents?
Will you advise them to be vaccinated or not? Why?
You may not be 16 years old, so unable to take the Covid-19 vaccine,
but what do you think of the way it has been studied?
How will you share what you have learned with your parents?
Will you advise them to be vaccinated or not? Why?