COVID 19: Myth Buster

At this point of time, vaccination to every eligible human is important to save the life of individual, community and the whole world as the virus we are talking about there is COVID-19 and that has infected more than 100 million people of the World and more that 2.1 million people have already died.

Vaccination has never been a risk free option ever. All the medical interventions are done with well documented risk benefit assessment and it is not an adventurous ride at all.There are important safety information and they are needed to be followed and some of them are listed below as subscribed by Moderna, one of the vaccine manufacturers of the United States of America.

-Since allergy reaction may happen after vaccination, the vaccination site must be kept prepared for appropriate medical treatment facility.

- One must be counselled to self-monitor for unusual response of the body after vaccination.

- Immunocompromised person including individuals receiving immunosuppressive therapy may not get optimized efficacy out of the vaccination.

- It is important to know in advance there could be some minor side effects like, pain in injection site, fatigue, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, chills, nausea/vomiting, axillary swelling/ tenderness, fever, swelling at the injection site, and erythema at the injection site.

- There are insufficient information available on the risk involved associated with vaccination during pregnancy, breast feeding mother.

- The first and second dose of vaccine must be from the same company as there is insufficient information about its interchangeability to complete the vaccination series.

Once we know the risk benefit assessment, then we should not allow any disinformation on vaccines that might unnecessarily cloud the judgment of recipients. It is not a correct statement if somebody says “COVID-19 recovered can skip the vaccine series”. But one important point to be noted here is that – “If you were given Convalescent plasma while sick with COVID-19, you should wait 90 days after the treatment before getting the vaccine”, the CDC advises.

During the COVID-19 infection, one should not vaccinate till its recovery, however after a month, it is okay to have the shot even some symptoms persist. We have been seeing many people explaining their suffering like fatigue, brain fogging, aches, and pains even after the virus has left their systems, the long-haulers.

It is advised by the CDC that there should a minimum gap of two weeks before getting a shot of another type of vaccine for different disease.

It is a thumbs rule that you should take a rest for 15-20 minutes after taking a vaccine shot if you are self-driving back home. For COVID vaccine, it is better to take 30 minutes not to have any unanticipated body response against it.

To have a synergy of protection it is mandatory to have second vaccine within the recommended time frame. Getting a second shot of the vaccine completes the vaccine protocol set by the scientist after seeing the Phase 1, Phase 2 data, for its optimized efficacy.  Hence, remove the myth from your mind “Only one is enough second one is not required”. Vaccination still does not make you perfect against the virus; you may still be the silent carrier and infect other. Hence all ones who have been vaccinated must wear mask, keep the social distance and wash hands. It is important to vaccinate as many population of the world as possible so that lessening the transmission is possible and getting new variants of virus could be avoided.

It is not a discrimination to provide vaccine to healthcare workers and front liners because healthcare system is based on their good health and they are to be protected first to let continue the health services for all. Similarly, it is important to schedule the vaccination to old aged and vulnerable group of people to get the shot in row. Also, Nepal Government has declared a bold commitment that vaccine will be for all citizens and it will be for free. Let’s see how this goes.

It is quite natural to have questions about the new disease, new vaccine and some kind of hesitation to have the shot. Since this virus is highly contagious as explained earlier, it is really important for all of us to consider taking the shot and completing its series within recommended time frame as soon as it is available to you.

Let’s fight together with the unseen enemy, who killed multiple millions of human lives, divested livelihood of the people around the globe. Please keep following the public health mandatory rules against COVID-19 because the CDC and other public health agencies say:

“Two weeks after the second dose, there is 95% protection from becoming ill. Even though you likely won’t get sick from the virus, we don’t have clear evidence at this time that the vaccine protects you from getting infected or prevents you from infecting others. Until we get to a point of limited community transmission, people who are immunized should continue to take precautions that they have been normally taking these days”

Wish you all the best for early vaccination and a beautiful time back to your life… enjoy 2021