Vaccination against Covid-19 in Brazil among the first priority groups was accompanied by many plans of those waiting for the next day of the needle: parties, trips and hugs with their grandparents. But calm down.
According to scientists, it can take almost two months for our body to build its own protective shield after vaccination begins. It is worth remembering that the pandemic will continue and the number of new contaminants will not decrease until many people are vaccinated.
Vaccines trigger a defense reaction in the body, for example by an inactivated virus or an adenovirus that is genetically “clothed” with coronavirus (the so-called vector). This process remains in the memory of our immune system, which when it actually finds the virus, is ready to block its entry into the cells. It all takes a while.
“The response of the organism can vary depending on the age group and other individual aspects. We do not know exactly when each person’s immunity occurs,” says the epidemiologist Ethel Maciel of Ufes (Federal University of Espírito Santo).
In the case of Coronavac, the learning of the immune system still takes about two weeks after the application of the 2nd dose.
In the reports: Nurse Mônica Calazans, for example, received the first dose of Coronavac in SP on Jan. 17 – this Sunday, when the country’s first emergency immunizers were celebrated (Covishield, from AstraZeneca and Oxford University, was also endorsed) .
The second dose of calazan was given on February 12th. Technically speaking, taking into account the average immune protection against Covid-19, so only after February 26th.
In Covishield’s case, this protection against the virus begins about 21 days after the first dose (the second dose plays a role in extending the protection acquired). This vaccine was used in the country on January 25th.
So you can discard and agglomerate face masks just a few months after the vaccine?
No. No vaccine in the world guarantees complete immune protection. While the virus is circulating there is a possibility of disease, even among the immunized.
We know that Coronavac, for example, halves the risk of vaccines developing Covid-19. This is great, but there is still a chance you can get sick (even if not in severe form).
Data published in The Lancet this month shows Covishield reduces the chance of developing Covid-19 in people under the age of 55 by 70%. Again, there is still a risk of getting sick.
And even without developing the disease, vaccines can become infected and transmit the new coronavirus.
Since there are still very few vaccines in Brazil – less than 3% of the population so far – there is a risk that someone who received the vaccine could find the virus and spread it (even without getting sick) to those who still have it are not protected.
Therefore, even those who have already taken two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine must follow all well-known protocols to ensure the transmission of the disease: hand hygiene, social distancing and face mask. Not a small party.
There is still no revised and duly published scientific study to reduce the transmission of the new coronavirus among those vaccinated by the vaccinations available in Brazil.
“Pfizer reduces the viral load up to four times and could therefore also reduce the transmission of the virus. However, we are still not sure,” says epidemiologist Denise Garrett, vice president of the Sabin Institute (USA). Remember: we don’t have the Pfizer vaccine in Brazil.
For microbiologist Natália Pasternak, protective measures should be relaxed if the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths decrease significantly. “Vaccine isn’t an immunity passport, it’s a tool to get there,” he says.
Currently, the following days of those vaccinated against Covid-19 must be the same as the day before immunization.