COVID-19 vaccination: answers to the most common questions

With the advent of the COVID-19 vaccine, the number of questions has not only not decreased, but, on the contrary, increased, especially for those who are going to get vaccinated. Edition with the BBC decided to answer some of the most common questions.

Why vaccinate at all

Given the dynamics of the spread of coronavirus, sooner or later everyone will catch the infection, so it is better to prepare your body for it in advance and provide yourself with immune protection - at least partially.

It is known that coronavirus is especially dangerous for people who already have some kind of chronic disease: they may have an autoimmune reaction (when instead of a foreign virus, the body begins to attack its own healthy cells), the risk of complications is high.

Therefore, it is especially strongly recommended to get vaccinated as soon as possible for those who have problems with the lungs or bronchi, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. However, vaccination may be contraindicated in such people. Therefore, a consultation with a doctor is required.

And although there is an opinion that you can get sick from an injection, in fact it is impossible. The vaccine contains no viral particles capable of reproduction. Depending on the type of drug, it contains either an inactivated virus (the most traditional vaccination technology), or a fragment of its genetic code (vector vaccines), or artificially created proteins (peptide).

In any case, they are unable to penetrate the cells and provoke the development of infection. People who claim to have got sick as a result of the vaccination could have been infected during the vaccination process (in transport on the road, in the queue for an injection, etc.), but not because of the vaccine.

What are the contraindications?

Each vaccine has its own list of contraindications, but none of them is designed for minors (although Pfizer can be injected into adolescents over 16 years old), as well as pregnant and lactating women or people prone to severe allergic reactions.

In addition, individual intolerance to the components of a particular vaccine is possible - however, this is extremely rare. In such cases, you will be advised of another drug.

Why are only adults vaccinated, and children are not vaccinated?

No vaccine has been tested on children. The pandemic took the world by surprise, so the vaccine was tested at an accelerated rate. The developers had to cut corners a lot.

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Since children are much easier to carry the infection and are much less exposed to serious risk in case of infection (and attracting minors as volunteers requires much more effort), initially they were not included in clinical trials.

For exactly the same reason, the vaccines approved for vaccination of adults were not initially given to people over 60 or 65 years old. In the first group of participants in clinical trials, there were no (or there were not enough) volunteers from this age group, so the developers could not draw conclusions about how effective and safe the vaccine would be for them.

How safe is it for adults to vaccinate?

As much as scientists can be confident in the safety of a vaccine. On the other hand, there is no more reliable evidence of the safety of this or that drug than the mass vaccination that is actively being carried out around the world.

In total, almost 500 million people have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, so scientists have no doubt that none of the drugs widely used for vaccination poses a threat.

These include Covishield (AstraZeneka), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Moderna, Comirnaty (Pfizer / BioNTech), two Chinese vaccines (BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac) and Russia's Sputnik V. However, the WHO has so far officially approved only the first four of them.

As with any drug, the likelihood of side effects exists. But it is extremely small. Therefore, the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.

Are there any restrictions for vaccination

There are, but - apart from contraindications - there are relatively few of them.

The vaccine is not recommended for people who have any chronic diseases. in the acute stage (including cancer patients), or any other acute infection in an active form.

In addition, taking hormonal drugs can reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, but not block it.

If a few days before the vaccination you felt bad, for any reason, then it is better to postpone the vaccination and put your body in order.

In case of exacerbation of chronic diseases, it is recommended to vaccinate no earlier than two weeks after recovery or remission. If possible, it is better to wait a month. If a person has the flu or ARVI, then an injection can be given only after complete recovery and the end of the medication.

Do not listen to people who advise you to take some kind of medicine on the eve or immediately after the injection - ostensibly to reduce the likelihood of side effects. Doctors say that such advice is not only useless, but most likely harmful. As a last resort, if you are very nervous before vaccination, you can take a mild sedative.

Which vaccine to choose

Independent experts from different countries unanimously argue that the best vaccine today is the one that is available to you personally. That is, any of those drugs that are officially approved for use in your area and are still available.

There is only one exception to this general rule: if you have contraindications for a specific vaccine. In this case, you need to choose the drug to which you are insensitive.

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As for new mutations of the virus, it is possible that at some point the existing vaccines will partially or even completely lose their effectiveness, but so far all registered drugs provide effective protection against the virus.

What to do after vaccination

After the injection, doctors will monitor you for a while to rule out a possible allergic reaction. In addition, even if the doctors have already released you, experts advise not to drive until the end of the day.

Contrary to popular belief, complete abstinence from alcohol for a couple of weeks after vaccination is not included in the list of requirements. Doctors only advise, if possible, to refrain from drinking for a couple of days immediately after the injection, since alcohol in the blood prevents the formation of immunity from any disease.

The rest of the recommendations also practically do not differ from those that doctors give after any vaccination. For one or two days, it is better not to wet and not rub the injection site, for several days you need to reduce physical (and, if possible, emotional) stress. And in general, do not forget that temporarily your body may be slightly weakened: avoid hypothermia or overheating, as well as foods that can cause an allergic reaction.

What side effects are possible

Most tolerate the injection without any significant symptoms. You may only develop mild weakness and redness or swelling at the injection site. Also, sometimes mild muscle discomfort and fever are possible. Very rarely, there is a slight chill, nausea, a slight increase in lymph nodes.

All these are absolutely normal reactions during the formation of immunity. At this time, the vaccinated does not pose a danger to others.

Serious side effects are extremely rare. According to recent studies, signs of thrombosis appear in 4-5 people out of every million who received the vaccine (0,0005%) - against 39 cases for every million unvaccinated patients who have had COVID-19.

When we can assume that the virus is no longer scary

Almost all vaccines, except Johnson & Johnson and Sputnik, need to be injected twice to provide an immune response.

Doctors say that a break of up to two months is possible between the introduction of the first and second doses - without any harm in terms of the effectiveness of the vaccine.

The maximum level of protection against coronavirus infection is achieved three to four weeks after the second injection, when full immunity is formed. However, even in this case, the vaccinated person can carry the virus without knowing it. So, if possible, after vaccination, you should continue to wear a mask and keep away from others - to protect them.

Do I need to vaccinate those who have already been ill

If you know for sure that you have suffered COVID-19 in the last six months, it is better not to get vaccinated yet, but wait at least a couple of months.

If you suspect that you have already had a coronavirus infection, but the diagnosis of COVID-19 has not been officially confirmed, it makes sense to do an antibody test before vaccination.

However, it should be remembered that the presence of antibodies is not a guarantee of protection. Scientists still do not know what level of antibodies provides reliable immunity - and how linear this relationship is.

There is a version that the key role in the fight against COVID-19 is played not by antibodies, but by cellular immunity: with the help of memory cells, the body, as it were, remembers the infection and quickly produces the necessary antibodies when it meets the virus again.

However, the immunity obtained as a result of the disease suffered is different from the protection that vaccination gives. Therefore, at some point - when more vulnerable groups of the population are vaccinated - it is desirable to vaccinate even those who have been ill.

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In any case, beforehand, doctors recommend that those who have already been ill do a test for IgG antibodies and make sure that their level has dropped sufficiently.

How long does the protection last, whether it is necessary to be vaccinated again

Scientists still do not have an exact answer to these questions, since Sars-Cov-2 was discovered only a little over a year ago. However, based on the dynamics of virus mutations and the experience of studying related pathogens, it can be assumed that immunity will not last very long.

According to the latest data, after suffering a disease, a person remains immune to re-infection for at least eight to nine months - although this is a very individual indicator and this period can vary greatly from person to person.

However, the immune defense acquired by vaccination is different from natural immunity. According to scientists, the effect of the vaccine can last up to two years.

The main thing that every vaccinated person should be aware of is that the vaccine protects not from infection, but from the severe course of the disease.

The vaccine virtually eliminates the likelihood of dying from coronavirus or being in intensive care.

The opportunity to be in the hospital or to be ill with COVID-19 in a mild form at home after vaccination remains, but at the same time it is greatly reduced.