Immunity after Vaccination Not Instant

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

Officers show the Covid-19 Vaccine to be injected into Deputy Governor of East Java Emil Elestianto Dardak at the Grahadi Building, the first place for the Covid-19 vaccination in East Java, Surabaya City, Thursday (14/1/2021).

Since Wednesday (13/1/2021) evening, the public has expressed outrage over social media posts about a group of people who allegedly gathered without heeding health protocol. It turns out that some of them have received the first shot for Covid-19 vaccination.

Vaccines made from inactivated viruses, proteins or biological substances from viruses or other germs are intended to enable the immune system to produce antibodies to fight the germs. However, the vaccines take time to induce the immunity. As long as antibodies have not been formed, the risk of being infected with Covid-19 remains high.

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According to the head of the Clinical Trial Research Team for the Sinovac Covid-19 Vaccine in Indonesia, who is also a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Padjadjaran University, Kusnandi Rusmil, CoronaVac, a vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech China, is given through two injections with a gap of two weeks. This is to ensure antibody levels high enough to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Two weeks after the first injection, antibodies will be formed and be complete within one month after the second injection. After that, the antibody level will drop slowly. Kusnandi and his team are currently researching how long immunity can last. Of the 1,620 volunteers, 540 were tested for their antibody titer every three months.

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In the first three months, the antibody titer was quite high. The immunogenicity was measured at 99.23 percent. Kusnandi estimated that the antibodies could last a year. After that, a booster injection may be needed.

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KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Covid-19 vaccine injection for medical personnel at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Central Jakarta, Thursday (14/1/2021).

One month

"Actually, the antibodies being formed would be higher if the injection were given one month apart," said Kusnandi. Therefore, he would propose that once the situation has calmed down. In addition to maximum immunity, the one-month injection gap would help prevent the community health centers administering vaccinations to handle the program in an orderly manner with less crowding. This would prevent that people coming in for their second shot of the vaccine would not meet those receiving the first shot.

The CoronaVac vaccine is made from a dead virus. Therefore, there is no need to worry about contracting Covid-19 from the vaccine. However, there is still a possibility that people who have been vaccinated will catch Covid-19 from other people. However, the symptoms are mild, so there is no need for them to be hospitalized.

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Apart from the antibody titer, the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of the vaccine are also examined in all volunteers. CoronaVac\'s safety is considered good. The side effects are relatively mild. They are limited to small swelling or slight redness at the injection site, low-grade fever (36.5-38.4 degrees Celsius) and slight dizziness. So far, no one has had any serious side effects.

According to Kusnandi, the existing vaccines are still capable of neutralizing the strains or new strains of the current mutated virus. The cause is that the form of the virus has not changed much.

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Vaccines can prevent someone from falling ill, according to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website. However, it is not yet known whether vaccinated people can carry and transmit the virus to other people.

Despite vaccination, to break the chain of transmission, residents must still comply with health protocols, such as by wearing masks, maintaining cleanliness, keeping a physical distance from others, avoiding crowds and limiting mobility. Moreover, many people have not been vaccinated, such as children, pregnant women and those with severe comorbidities.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.