The second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine must be done in order to form more stable immunity to the virus; without it, a person exposes himself to the risk of infection, since the effectiveness of the first dose of the drug is practically nullified. This was announced on Wednesday, May 5, in an interview “RIA News»Deputy Director for Research of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Gorelov.
The specialist explained that after the first injection of the vaccine, antibodies begin to be produced, which form humoral immunity, its production is determined by the presence of IgM and IgG immunoglobulins.
“Humoral immunity is unstable and short-lived, it lasts for 2-3 months. Therefore, to consolidate the success, a second dose of the vaccine is needed, thanks to which T-cell immunity, or the so-called memory cells, is already formed. They provide reliable protection against infection, ”the expert noted.
According to him, the period of 30-45 days between vaccinations is considered optimal, but in a pandemic, this period is too long. At the moment, this interval has been reduced to 21 days, but this is quite enough for the formation of full-fledged immunity.
Gorelov recalled that the introduction of several doses of a vaccine preparation is a common practice in immunization against most infections. For example, when vaccinated against human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and tick-borne encephalitis.
“By refusing the second dose of the vaccine, a person jeopardizes his health and actually negates the effectiveness of the first dose. After a couple of months, he will again become vulnerable to infection. Therefore, in order to achieve an immunological effect, it is extremely important to complete the full course of vaccination and receive both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, ”the epidemiologist concluded.
Earlier, on April 30, Muscovites were warned that the work of vaccination centers in clinics and mobile teams in public places would continue during the May holidays.
On April 27, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that collective immunity to coronavirus in Russia could be formed in September. However, Golikova noted that everything will depend on the intensity of vaccination against coronavirus.
The day before, Golikova said that almost 12 million Russians were vaccinated with the first component of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 7.5 million people received both doses of the drug.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/epidemiologist-explains-the-need-for-a-second-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine/
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