Episode 10 | Vaccine Preparedness
Channel: Demystifying NMO & MOG Podcast
Date: 2022-12-07

ORIGINAL PODCAST RELEASE DATE: December 14, 2020 

The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged the world, and while we're going through another dark surge, there is hope- vaccines. The FDA just authorized and approved the first Covid-19 vaccine. While this is exciting, it also brings up a lot of questions, especially for people in the NMO community. In this episode, host Chelsey, Ph.D. immunologist, chats with Sumaira on the basics of vaccines and then talks with neuroimmunologist and NMO clinician Mary Rensel, MD of the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center. Sumaira and Chelsey cover the basics on vaccines: What are vaccines? What's protective immunity? What's herd immunity? What're the types of vaccines? What's the Covid vaccine timeline of distribution look like?

Dr. Rensel offers her clinical insight to discuss general vaccine considerations and recommendations for the NMO community, including What are vaccine recommendations for NMO patients? Do NMO treatments affect vaccine response? Or safety concerns? Is there an effect of vaccines on NMO relapse?

Please remember that the goal of this podcast is to educate and empower you to make the most informed decisions with your health care provider. This is not medical advice- please follow up with your health care team.

*Chelsey is a medical science liaison with Sanofi-Genzyme, and her role in the CBJF is independent of Sanofi-Genzyme, and views/content shared do not reflect Sanofi-Genzyme.

ABOUT US:
The Demystifying NMO podcast is a collaboration between the Sumaira Foundation (TSF) and the Connor B Judge Foundation (CBJF). This podcast is made possible with the generous support of Genentech.

SOCIAL & WEBSITE:

Sumaira Ahmed
Twitter - https://twitter.com/SumairaFlower

Dr. Mary Rensel
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/staff/2772-mary-rensel
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MRenselMD

Demystifying NMO podcast
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/demystifying_nmomog
Twitter - https://twitter.com/DemystifyingNMO

The Sumaira Foundation
Website - https://www.sumairafoundation.org
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheSumairaFoundation

The Connor B Judge Foundation
Website - https://www.connorbjudgefoundation.org
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbjvnmo

TIMESTAMPS/TOPICS:
00:02:16 Sumaira Ahmed
00:02:58 What are vaccines?
00:05:00 Herd immunity
00:06:33 The vaccine debate
00:07:38 Different types of vaccines
00:10:18 mRNA vaccines
00:12:55 Clinical development
00:19:57 Dr. Mary Renzel 
00:22:45 The VELOCE study
00:28:13 Neuro-immune conditions and vaccine  hesitancy

ARTICLES:
Bar-Or A, Calkwood JC, Chognot C, Evershed J, Fox EJ, Herman A, Manfrini M, McNamara J, Robertson DS, Stokmaier D, Wendt JK, Winthrop KL, Traboulsee A. Effect of ocrelizumab on vaccine responses in patients with multiple sclerosis: The VELOCE study. Neurology. 2020 Oct 6;95(14):e1999-e2008. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010380. Epub 2020 Jul 29. PMID: 32727835; PMCID: PMC7843152.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32727835/

LINKS:
CDC COVID-19 resources
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

CREDITS:
Host - Chelsey Judge
Editor - Brian Dawson
Cover Art - Sumaira Ahmed
Guest Photo - Cleveland Clinic
     Sumaira Foundation