A Mishap Sheds Light
on an Ebola Vaccine
Summary
Dr. Lewis Rubinson, from Sierra Leone, anticipated a
possible risk of contracting the deadly disease, Ebola, after experiencing a
needle jab into his thumb back in September. This intensive care specialist and
associate professor at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine was given
a shot of an experimental vaccine. This vaccine was previously used on someone
else. The purpose of this vaccine was to serve as a stimulant to Dr. Rubinson’s
immune system to fight off Ebola if he had been exposed to the virus. However,
blood tests confirmed that the doctor was never infected by the virus. The vaccine
did produce several symptoms to Dr. Rubinson. These symptoms included: fever,
chills, nausea, muscle pains, and a headache. After a few days of having these
symptoms, blood tests suggested that Dr. Rubinson was probably immune to Ebola.
The vaccine given to Dr. Rubinson was made from another
virus, for vesicular stomatitis virus, or V.S.V. V.S.V. is a virus created by
scientists from Canada and the United States about ten years ago. This virus causes
a mouth disease in cattle but rarely infects people, and has been used
successfully in other vaccines. The vaccine given to Dr. Rubinson was not
approved by the Food and Drug Administration and had to have a special request
to be administered on an emergency basis.
Analysis
I appreciate and respect Dr. Rubinson’s willingness for
wanting to receive the vaccine. If I was the first person to accept the
vaccine, I would be fearful considering the side effects it produces and it not
being approved by FDA. We need more people like Dr. Rubinson to be courageous
and fearless.
Shane’ Lennon
3/8/15
10:36pm
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