Adventist Expert Discusses COVID-19, Vaccines, and the Immune System

November 22, 2021 | Miami, Florida, United States | By: Marcos Paseggi for Inter-American Division News

As part of the Inter-American Division’s Online Symposium on “Freedom of Conscience and the Vaccine Mandate,” Carlos Casiano, professor of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Medicine at Loma Linda University, shared what the COVID-19 virus is doing in infected people and what we can do to prevent infection. Puerto Rico-born Casiano, a renowned researcher who recently presented in Germany on the topic, shared information and advice, as part of the opening night of the virtual event on Nov. 19, 2021.

A deadly pandemic

Casiano acknowledged that sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic, which so far has caused at least 5,137,000 deaths and health complications for many more people, “is not going away. The virus is spreading fast, particularly among the unvaccinated, and especially in countries with cold climate,” he noted.

At the same time, data shows that more than 90 percent of cases and more than 95 percent of the hospitalized are the unvaccinated, he said noting that COVID-19 is the third most deadly pandemic of the past 100 years, after the Spanish flue and HIV/AIDS.

“The common denominator of the pandemic is that includes viruses that mutate rapidly and evade the immune system,” said Casiano.

He explained that there are several types of coronaviruses that cause the common cold. The one producing COVID-19 is the SARS-CoV-2, or severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus. “It is very easy to get infected with the SARS-CoV-2, especially in closed spaces,” he explained. “So, a person, even asymptomatic, can transmit the virus, and another person can catch it, sometimes even if immunized. It takes only one person to pass the virus to the rest.”

Casiano acknowledged that the COVID variants are the result of too many infections and too little vaccination. Low rates of vaccinations trigger high rates of infections, which contribute to the emergence of variants.

What happens inside our bodies

And please change flue to flu in the English original.
There’s also a “to right the spike” that should be “to fight the spike”

But what happens inside our bodies when we get infected with the COVID-19 virus?

Casiano said that the virus gets inside our cells. But to do that, it needs receptors, which do not depend on our immune system. They depend on our genes, he said. “Some people have low level of receptors and others have high level of receptors. Those who have low level of receptors tend to express less severe symptoms of the disease,” he said.

He explained that be it the flu or COVID, the T cells and the B cells of the body react to fight the virus. T cells also trigger dendritic and other phagocytic cells to fight the spike in protein of the virus. In simple terms, the immune system creates antibodies to neutralize the virus. They take care, so to say, of the infection.

But there are some caveats, Casiano said. “This process is not instantaneous; it takes two to three weeks the first time you are exposed to the virus. The second time you are exposed to the virus, the process is much shorter — three days to a week,” he shared.

The role of inflammation

As part of this process, the body releases what scientists call inflammatory cytokines, said Casiano. “To fight the infection, the immune system has to activate inflammation,” he noted. “It has to allow inflammation, because inflammation allows the white blood cells to work and do their job.”

He explained that the COVID-19 virus promotes a higher activation of inflammation, so the body develops what is called a “cytokine storm,” where the virus is inducing the immune system to inflame the whole body. “Many people who are dying from COVID are dying because of hormonal insufficiency, due to a high state of inflammation, or [because of] damage of other organs due to this cytokine storm,” he acknowledged.

Casiano said that since receptors are androgen regulated, the reaction is connected to the level of testosterone. Men with high levels of testosterone sometimes lose their hair earlier (what is known as “alopecia”). As a consequence, it has been found a relationship between alopecia and more severe symptoms of the disease. Women who have high levels of androgen tend to develop cysts in their ovaries. These women also tend to have more severe symptoms. The same with people who are obese, who are immuno-compromised, or untreated diabetes, he said.

Once the virus is inside the cell, it releases genetic material that is released into our bodies, said Casiano. “Those who are not immunized carry lots of viral particles in their bodies and then pass that to other people who are not immunized, and this creates an incubator for the virus to constantly change,” he said. “The more human bodies available to infect the higher the chances of new variants arising.”

How to control the infection

How do we control this? Casiano asked rhetorically. “Via immunization. With more immunization, there are less particles circulating and less variants,” he said.

But how does our immune system respond to a foreign infection agent?

Casiano shared that when you get infected from a disease such as tetanus COVID-19, the body can mount an immune response, but it takes for the body three to four weeks to do it. The virus, on the other hand, is much faster and can kill you before your body is ready to respond. It is the reason we need immunization, to help the body mount a defense before the virus attack.

“Vaccines may not prevent attack by bacteria or virus but do prevent severe disease and death from the infection,” he explained.

According to Casiano a major problem with COVID-19 is that starts destroying our internal organs if we get infected. It starts destroying our lungs, our liver, our kidneys, our eyes, and nose, among others. “Perhaps you may say, ‘Well, I had COVID-19 and only mild symptoms.’ Yes, you may have a low level of receptors and a good immune system. But you can also have a good immune system and the virus can take that to its advantage by enhancing inflammation that can lead to multiple organ failure,” said Casiano.he

He explained that COVID-19 may kill us, but if we survive moderate to severe disease, we may still suffer the consequences for a long time. He listed some of those consequences, which include acute respiratory distress, pulmonary deficiency, chronic fatigue, autoimmune conditions, brain fog, vascular disease, thrombosis, and heart problems, among others.

The role of the vaccine

Casiano noted that the COVID-19 vaccine boosts our immune system without causing the cytokine storm. “Studies keep showing that the vaccines are significantly effective to prevent severe disease, hospitalizations, and death,” he said.

Of course, all vaccines have side effects, and the COVID-19 vaccine is no exception, said Casiano. “Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include drowsiness, chills, and pain,” he said. He explained most severe side-effects documented are, among others, anaphylaxis (an allergic reaction; 2-5 per million) and thrombotic events (3-4 per million). But on the other hand, he said, the chances of dying from COVID is 2 in 100 (2 percent), and more than 50 percent have prolonged side effects.

Casiano mentioned some of the debunked myths about the COVID vaccines. “As a scientist, I can assure you they do not contain microchips, magnets, foreign DNA that can alter yours, live viruses than can infect you, microparticles that can cause autism or autoimmune conditions, heavy metals such as mercury or aluminum, carcinogens such as formaldehyde, egg or other animal products,” he said. He noted that Loma Linda University strongly supports COVID vaccination. AdventHealth, a health-care organization based in Florida, too. The same for Adventist Health, based in California, and Adventist HealthCare, based in Maryland. It is also strongly supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Questions from viewers

In the last part of Casiano’s presentation, some of the viewers sent questions that Casiano and Peter Landless, health ministries director of the Adventist world church, answered and shared with the rest of the thousands who followed the online event.

Some asked, “If I had COVID, do I still need to get vaccinated?”

As a way of an answer, Casiano explained that it depends when you got COVID. “If you had COVID in the last few months, maybe you still have immunity. We haven’t determined yet how long immunity lasts.” He acknowledged that there are reports of people who had COVID six or seven months ago and now are seeing their antibodies levels to go down.

“What about mandates?” asked another viewer.

Landless made clear that mandates are not made by the church. These are made by governments and by jurisdictions. He noted, “When the mandate is in favor of public health, the document states that the church can support the mandates that relate to public health measures to improve and benefit the health of the people. At the same time, the refusal to take it should not be seen as a religious reason.”

In his closing remarks, Casiano encouraged church leaders and members to keep informed about the topic and making decisions that not only benefit us personally but also protect others. “Together, we can stop COVID-19 suffering and deaths!” Casiano said. “Let’s continue saving lives!”

To view the opening segment of Inter-America’s Online Symposium on Freedom of Conscience and the Vaccine Mandate, Click HERE

For additional reporting on the online symposium and several presentations, visit us at interamerica.org