Pursuing Vaccination while Remaining Alert

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

A health worker gives a first COVID-19 vaccine dose to a vendor at Blok A Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta on Monday (1/3/2021). Many vendors welcomed the vaccination, and there was a long line to register. More than 23,000 vendors and management staff registered for the vaccination drive, which ran until March 2.

Post-vaccination infections have been reported, including confirmed cases after patients received the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

People are restless and tired after dealing with the pandemic for a full year, placing their hopes in the government’s vaccinations. The reality, however, is that problems have been overlooked in the attempt to accelerate vaccine development. The main focus was put on the efficacy of the vaccine as well as the health and safety of recipients, so a comprehensive study on post-vaccination results must be conducted to obtain a complete picture of the effectiveness.

Hence, we must maintain the implementation of strict health protocols.

Not only China’s Sinovac vaccine, which is currently used in Indonesia, all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) do not guarantee recipients will develop total immunity against the coronavirus. Hence, we must maintain the implementation of strict health protocols.

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A report from the Emergency Use Authorization of Moderna vaccine, for instance, found that 11 people still tested positive for COVID-19 even after receiving the second jab. But this number is far below the number of positive cases from a control group at 185 people.

Stephen Lynch, a Democratic Party Representative from Massachusetts, the United States, tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving the second dose of Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine.

KOMPAS/LARASWATI ARIADNE ANWAR

Elderly people wait in line outside the Health Ministry training center on Jl. Hang Jebat in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Tuesday. They received a message broadcast on WhatsApp notifying recipients of free vaccinations for elderly people in the area. However, it turned out that the free vaccine was being offered only to elderly people with South Jakarta-registered ID cards and that the number was limited to 1,000 people per day.

In sum, people who already received vaccination still face the risk of coronavirus infection, even after a second dose. Nevertheless, the good news is that vaccine prevents patient from succumbing to the illness. Scientifically, this result is expected from vaccines for other illness, such as measles and influenza. We still face the risk of infection even after a second dose but most likely to falling ill with light symptoms.

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COVID-19 vaccine does not guarantee total immunity. There are triggers for infection, particularly due to the gap between vaccination and protection. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it will take days or even weeks for the vaccine to develop immune system in our body.

Despite attempts to investigate the post-Covid effect, no vaccine could deliver 100 percent immunity.

Moderna did not completely investigate the result of the first dose in creating immunity. On the other hand, Pfizer reported that it takes 14 days after the first dose is inoculated with 52 percent effectiveness to prevent coronavirus infection. Despite attempts to investigate the post-Covid effect, no vaccine could deliver 100 percent immunity.

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Reports on Sinovac phase III test in Brazil and Turkey – with respondents mainly consisting of health workers aged 18 or older – revealed that 254 people tested positive for the coronavirus out of 12,396 participants. This result means only 2 percent of recipients face infection risk post-vaccination.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

his is a situation during Covid-19 vaccination at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (26/2/2021). Athletes participated in the campaign on the importance of vaccination. The athletes have not experienced any negative effects after getting a vaccine shot. They are happy to receive the vaccine because it increases immunity and confidence for training and competition. They hope the vaccination marks a start for the recovery of sports in Indonesia, mainly for national competition.

Despite reports of positive cases post-vaccination, vaccination still provides protection for the majority of recipients. The positive impact should be widely reported to generate optimism among the population to participate in COVID-19 vaccination program. With such optimism, hopefully, the 70 percent herd immunity target can be achieved soon.

(This article was translated by Lionel Priyadi)