Your immune system reacts to the vaccine in a similar way that it would if it were being invaded by the disease — by making antibodies. The antibodies destroy the vaccine germs just as they would the disease germs — like a training exercise. Then they stay in your body, giving you immunity. Your body continues making antibodies and memory B cells for a couple of weeks after vaccination. Over time, the antibodies will gradually disappear, but the memory B cells will remain dormant in your body for many years.
The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease. Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation. A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly like it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first. This is what makes vaccines such powerful medicine. Each vaccine contains a small amount of the disease germ (virus or bacteria) or parts of the germ. Examples are the measles virus, pertussis (whooping cough) bacteria, and tetanus toxoid. If live parenteral (injected) vaccines (MMR, MMRV, varicella, zoster, and yellow fever) and live intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV) are not administered at the same visit, they should be separated by at least 4 weeks.
All vaccines can be administered at the same visit*. There is no upper limit for the number of vaccines that can be administered during one visit. ACIP and AAP consistently recommend that all needed vaccines be administered during an office visit. Most of the time, your risk of serious side effects does not increase if you get extra doses of a vaccine. Getting extra doses of oral vaccines, such as rotavirus or typhoid, is not known to cause any problems.
Your immune system reacts to the vaccine in a similar way that it would if it were being invaded by the disease — by making antibodies. The antibodies destroy the vaccine germs just as they would the disease germs — like a training exercise. Then they stay in your body, giving you immunity. Your body continues making antibodies and memory B cells for a couple of weeks after vaccination. Over time, the antibodies will gradually disappear, but the memory B cells will remain dormant in your body for many years. While studies show the vaccines are effective against symptomatic disease, researchers are still learning its impact on asymptomatic infection. For this reason, health officials warn against non-essential travel even after getting vaccinated. The short-term side-effects are very similar to those reported in the vaccine trials. The most common reactions include injection site pain, headache, tiredness and muscle aches, usually in the first two days and then resolving within a week after vaccination.
Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary. However, it is advisable to receive the complete schedule of COVID-19 vaccine for protecting one-self against this disease and also to limit the spread of this disease to the close contacts including family members, friends, relatives and co-workers. Even if the herd-immunity threshold is not reached, every additional person vaccinated is a person who would generally be spreading less virus than if they were not vaccinated. A person exposed to less virus is also a person less likely to get sick, to go to the hospital, or to die. For many, the side effects are more powerful after the second dose is administered. Health experts say these side effects are just normal signs your body is building the immune response it needs to protect you from severe disease. The first and second dose of the COVID vaccines are the same. Both doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines are the same but the way people react to the second dose is often different.
Covaxin or Covisheild?
Well to take the jab or not? Who qualifies for vaccine who does not? What is the Vaccine all about? All such questions are in the mind of millions. Nationally acclaimed Dr Raja Dhar, Head of the Department Pulmonology, CK Birla Hospitals- CMRI and BMB Heart Research Centre, Kolkata gives a detailed account on vaccines. He has seen more than thousand Covid patients during the time of Covid. Dr. Raja Dhar is a proficient clinician in all disciplines of Respiratory Medicine which includes treating patients with COVID, airways disease, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, transplant, lung cancer, sleep medicine, lung infections including TB, and respiratory emergencies. His forte is Interventional Pulmonology including electrocautery, APC, cryotherapy, stent placements and Medical Thoracoscopy.
Talking all about the vaccines, Dr. Dhar explains, “There’s a lot of concern among the laymanand also in the medicalfraternity as to whether one should take the covid vaccine or not.The unambiguous answer to this question is that we should all receive the covid vaccines”. He said one of the biggest achievements in the last year or even for longer has been the time span over which a covid vaccine has been developed. Normally, it would take about 10 years to develop a vaccine of a similar ilk.
However, it’s the hard work of the scientists in India and globally which is resulted in a vaccine being developed in such a short period of time. Although, no one can be forced to take the vaccine with or without their consent, Dr Dhar said. He said the health workers, the high-risk population and most people should take the vaccine as soon as it is made available for them. All drugs can have side effects, all injections can cause allergic reactions.
However, there is no added risk of taking a vaccine in fact, vaccines are generally being thought to be safer, an on a balance taking a vaccine saves far more lives as compares to the morbidity and mortality that one might anticipate from the vaccine, Dr Dhar said “We should dispel rumours that the vaccine contains microchips; that it may cause side effects; that it would be ineffective against Covid. Our best bet against the virus is by getting vaccinated. This does not mean that we do away with practices which have become the new normal; like wearing masks, sanitizing hands, maintaining physical distance etc. However, the vaccine definitely gives us added protection over and above what is achieved by the health control measures just described,” he said.