Difference between revisions of "2422: Vaccine Ordering"
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| date = February 8, 2021 | | date = February 8, 2021 | ||
| title = Vaccine Ordering | | title = Vaccine Ordering | ||
| − | | image = | + | | image = vaccine_ordering-new.png |
| titletext = You know what they say: mRNA-1273 before tozinameran, you'll have to slay a banshee in a catamaran. | | titletext = You know what they say: mRNA-1273 before tozinameran, you'll have to slay a banshee in a catamaran. | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | {{ | + | This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]]. |
| − | + | Two COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in the United States (one from {{w|Moderna}}, the other from a joint venture between {{w|Pfizer}} and {{w|BioNTech}}). Each of these vaccines require 2 doses, taken 3-4 weeks apart. | |
Megan is reading an article on her phone to Cueball. A report from the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC}} says that it's possible to get effective immunity against {{w|COVID-19}} when mixing {{w|RNA vaccine|mRNA vaccine doses}} from Pfizer and Moderna, but that this practice should not be the norm. The report in question can be viewed [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-considerations.html here]; it stresses that mixing the vaccines is acceptable only in exceptional circumstances, such as "when the first-dose vaccine product cannot be determined." | Megan is reading an article on her phone to Cueball. A report from the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC}} says that it's possible to get effective immunity against {{w|COVID-19}} when mixing {{w|RNA vaccine|mRNA vaccine doses}} from Pfizer and Moderna, but that this practice should not be the norm. The report in question can be viewed [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-considerations.html here]; it stresses that mixing the vaccines is acceptable only in exceptional circumstances, such as "when the first-dose vaccine product cannot be determined." | ||
| − | Cueball wonders whether the order in which you receive the vaccines matters. Megan then attempts to create {{w|Mnemonic|mnemonic devices}} to help them remember which mix-and-match strategy is best for the mRNA vaccines (e.g., "Beer before wine and you'll feel fine; wine before beer and you'll feel queer"). The apparent | + | Cueball wonders whether the order in which you receive the vaccines matters. Megan then attempts to create {{w|Mnemonic|mnemonic devices}} to help them remember which mix-and-match strategy is best for the mRNA vaccines (e.g., "Beer before wine and you'll feel fine; wine before beer and you'll feel queer"). She "concludes" that receiving the Pfizer vaccine after the Moderna one will be just as effective as having two doses of either, but that having the Moderna vaccine after Pfizer's will lead to the patient becoming the ruler of an ancient city. Megan might mean that the patient will be literally transported back in time, as she and Cueball (and [[Black Hat]]) were in [[2321: Low-Background Metal]]. The apparent {{w|truthiness}} of these mnemonics might be attributed to the {{w|rhyme-as-reason_effect|rhyme-as-reason effect}}, a cognitive bias that is often misleading - very much so in this case. Megan succeeds by rhyming "Pfizer" and "wiser," but struggles with finding a rhyme for "Moderna," settling for {{w|Smyrna}}, an ancient city located in what is now {{w|Izmir}}, Turkey. Two equally ridiculous rhymes could be “Pfizer before Moderna, you’ll have a broken {{w|Xiphoid process|xiphisterna}} (plural of xiphisterum, or the xiphoid, a small triangular extension of the sternum)” or “Pfizer before Moderna, you’ll be attacked by sharks of genus {{w|Sphyrna}} (a hammerhead shark)”. |
| − | A {{w|side effect}} of a drug is an effect incidental to the intended purpose of the drug. Side effects can be positive or negative, though in vaccine trials the greater concern is usually about negative side effects. Becoming ruler of an ancient city that is now only a historical ruin would certainly be an | + | A {{w|side effect}} of a drug is an effect incidental to the intended purpose of the drug. Side effects can be positive or negative, though in vaccine trials the greater concern is usually about negative side effects. Becoming ruler of an ancient city that is now only a historical ruin would certainly be an unexpected side effect.{{Citation needed}} |
| − | The title text continues the theme of difficult rhymes, using the full names of both the Moderna vaccine drug ({{w|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine|mRNA-1273}}, rhymed with ''banshee'') and the Pfizer one ({{w|Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine|tozinameran}}, rhymed with ''catamaran''). | + | The title text continues the theme of difficult rhymes, using the full names of both the Moderna vaccine drug ({{w|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine|mRNA-1273}}, rhymed with ''{{w|banshee}}'') and the Pfizer one ({{w|Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine|tozinameran}}, rhymed with ''{{w|catamaran}}''). |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
| + | *This comic image was originally published with no {{w|Spatial anti-aliasing|anti-aliasing}}. All of its pixels were either fully black or fully white, with no shades of gray, giving the smooth lines a jagged appearance. This was fixed later in the day. | ||
| − | |||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
| + | |||
[[Category:COVID-19]] | [[Category:COVID-19]] | ||
| + | [[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]] | ||
[[Category:Language]] | [[Category:Language]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:45, 23 October 2024
| Vaccine Ordering |
 Title text: You know what they say: mRNA-1273 before tozinameran, you'll have to slay a banshee in a catamaran. |
Explanation[edit]
This comic is another in a series of comics related to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
Two COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in the United States (one from Moderna, the other from a joint venture between Pfizer and BioNTech). Each of these vaccines require 2 doses, taken 3-4 weeks apart.
Megan is reading an article on her phone to Cueball. A report from the CDC says that it's possible to get effective immunity against COVID-19 when mixing mRNA vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna, but that this practice should not be the norm. The report in question can be viewed here; it stresses that mixing the vaccines is acceptable only in exceptional circumstances, such as "when the first-dose vaccine product cannot be determined."
Cueball wonders whether the order in which you receive the vaccines matters. Megan then attempts to create mnemonic devices to help them remember which mix-and-match strategy is best for the mRNA vaccines (e.g., "Beer before wine and you'll feel fine; wine before beer and you'll feel queer"). She "concludes" that receiving the Pfizer vaccine after the Moderna one will be just as effective as having two doses of either, but that having the Moderna vaccine after Pfizer's will lead to the patient becoming the ruler of an ancient city. Megan might mean that the patient will be literally transported back in time, as she and Cueball (and Black Hat) were in 2321: Low-Background Metal. The apparent truthiness of these mnemonics might be attributed to the rhyme-as-reason effect, a cognitive bias that is often misleading - very much so in this case. Megan succeeds by rhyming "Pfizer" and "wiser," but struggles with finding a rhyme for "Moderna," settling for Smyrna, an ancient city located in what is now Izmir, Turkey. Two equally ridiculous rhymes could be “Pfizer before Moderna, you’ll have a broken xiphisterna (plural of xiphisterum, or the xiphoid, a small triangular extension of the sternum)” or “Pfizer before Moderna, you’ll be attacked by sharks of genus Sphyrna (a hammerhead shark)”.
A side effect of a drug is an effect incidental to the intended purpose of the drug. Side effects can be positive or negative, though in vaccine trials the greater concern is usually about negative side effects. Becoming ruler of an ancient city that is now only a historical ruin would certainly be an unexpected side effect.[citation needed]
The title text continues the theme of difficult rhymes, using the full names of both the Moderna vaccine drug (mRNA-1273, rhymed with banshee) and the Pfizer one (tozinameran, rhymed with catamaran).
Transcript[edit]
- [Megan and Cueball are talking. Megan is looking down and reading a news story on her phone.]
- Megan: The CDC says it's okay to mix and match the mRNA vaccines for doses 1 and 2, but only in "exceptional situations".
- Cueball: I wonder which order works better, if either.
- [A slimmer panel. Megan has her finger raised and her phone to her side]
- Megan: Well you know what they say.
- Megan: Moderna before Pfizer, you'll be none the wiser.
- [A regular panel, Megan and Cueball still standing next to each other.]
- Megan: Pfizer before Moderna then you'll... rule ancient Smyrna.
- Cueball: Weird side effect.
- Megan: A lot of hard-to-rhyme drugs have those.
Trivia[edit]
- This comic image was originally published with no anti-aliasing. All of its pixels were either fully black or fully white, with no shades of gray, giving the smooth lines a jagged appearance. This was fixed later in the day.
add a comment! ⋅ add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ 
refresh comments!Discussion
Another question this suggests is whether you should wait 28 days (Moderna) or 21 days (Pfizer) between doses... JohnHawkinson (talk) 02:50, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
Can someone clarify if I, the banshee, or both need to be in the catamaran? Cwallenpoole (talk) 04:34, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
- I'd say at least the banshee needs to be in the catamaran. If only you were in it, but the banshee wasn't, you'd be slaying it from (or with, if you use the catamaran as a weapon), rather than in a catamaran. Bischoff (talk) 11:18, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
- Isn't that like the Groucho Marx joke? "I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How it got into my pajamas, I don't know." Barmar (talk) 23:56, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
- yes -- Brettpeirce (talk) 22:34, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
- Isn't that like the Groucho Marx joke? "I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How it got into my pajamas, I don't know." Barmar (talk) 23:56, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
quality[edit]
For those that read XKCD here first - yes, the original comic really is that low quality. I suspect Randall's going to replace it with a cleaner one at some point. 108.162.237.134 23:10, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
- Unless the low quality is intentional, some way-over-my-head joke about vaccines and mRNA, maybe? -- or the low-quality of the image as an analogy for the low-quality of the rhymes? 172.69.234.138 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Looks like he's uploaded a better version now. I don't know how to replace the image, though. Argis13 (talk) 23:40, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
- You can't (I just tried it). The image shown is scaled up by 2×, and the non-scaled version (the one displayed) is anti-aliased. bubblegum-talk|contribs 00:20, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
- Looks like Randall fixed it now.172.68.174.86 00:39, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
I'd like to upload the original aliased files but I don't have permission to create new pages.[edit]
The original 1x version is here and the 2x version, still aliased but with 4 pixels of #f7f7f7, is here Landfillbaby (talk) 01:21, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
I see the right one now162.158.187.161 15:03, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
"Pfizer before moderna, that'll learn ya" - Alex Booker on Last Leg (UK channel 4) 5th Feb. 162.158.2.226 17:37, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
