Doctor Is In by Dr. Adil Manzoor OP/ED
Getting a vaccine is the goal, right? If you’ve been following my writing, you’ll know my answer to that is a resounding yes. Or to be more enthusiastic: Absolutely! The vaccine is the only way we can beat this virus. Yes, there’s herd immunity, but you also need the vaccine for that.
Things started taking weird turns when people still got the virus after taking the vaccine. Depending on the number of vaccine shots taken and the time involved, the cases observed after taking the vaccine may be breakthrough cases or just normal covid cases.
Breakthrough cases are cases that occur two weeks after a person has been fully vaccinated. By fully vaccinated, I mean taking two shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine and one of the Johnson & Johnson. Breakthrough cases are really rare, with mere tens in millions of vaccinated people having them, and even when they arise, the mortality rate or hospitalization risk is virtually non-existent.
When a person gets covid between vaccine doses, it isn’t a breakthrough case – it’s just a person getting covid. The covid vaccine ramps up our immune system to better combat the virus, if it eventually enters the body. To do this, the vaccine provides the body a blueprint of the virus to get it acclimatized with the virus.
The mRNA vaccines don’t work like conventional vaccines in that there isn’t a weakened or dead strain of the virus being injected. It works with messenger RNA carrying protein instructions about the virus into the body. I really don’t want to go too much into this, but the effect is still the same – protection from the virus.
However, with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, you need two shots to assure immunity. The first shot is undoubtedly going to offer a reasonable level of protection, with scientists suggesting about 50-80%. While it isn’t the best for a vaccine, it is still more than enough to prevent deaths and hospitalizations if the person eventually gets covid.
The second shot is what really assures full immunity. Don’t mistake me saying full immunity for 100% protection in all cases, I mean, I just spoke of breakthrough cases. In fact, there isn’t a medicine in this world that can be said to be 100% effective. There’s always a chance of an infection developing after medicine or even vaccine application, albeit a very very minimal one. You can probably throw one more ‘very’ in there too!
With that said, it isn’t too out of place to hear that some people get the virus after the first shot. Your chances of getting it are far lower than in unvaccinated people, but you definitely can still get it. This is why all hands have to be on deck till the end of the war. I’m talking of this long, arduous, and frustrating war against the coronavirus.
Getting one shot is not enough reason to neglect social distancing rules as you could still catch the virus, and that in turn means, you can still spread the virus. And if the virus keeps spreading, the chances of new strains developing are higher, which means the chances of more deaths and hospitalizations are also higher.
This is why Biden tweeted, ‘the rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.’ Note that he didn’t say get one vaccine shot, he said, get vaccinated. This means full vaccination, and that is only possible with two shots for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. If you’ve taken just one shot, you need to take one more. And pending when you take the second shot, you must act as though you are unvaccinated, following all social distancing and covid guidelines.
From Biden’s tweet, you can also see that the goal is for everyone to eventually get vaccinated, hence the ‘wear a mask, UNTIL you do’ part. Again, the vaccine is still our only shot of beating this virus. So, if you want us to finally beat this virus, you know what to do.
Stay safe. And wear a mask until you get vaccinated.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
· https://www.washington post.com/health/2021/04/23/getting-covid-after-vaccine/
