Who should get the '5th dose' of the Covid-19 vaccine?

Regarding the additional injection (after receiving 4 injections) of the Covid-19 vaccine, usually with AstraZeneca, Pfizer... vaccines, the Ministry of Health has instructed to inject the basic doses (1st and 2nd injections) and 2 booster shots (3rd and 4th injections). In Vietnam, if a person has received all 4 injections, if the next injection is called the "5th injection". In the rest of the world, it is not called the 5th injection but the "additional injection".

Although the Covid-19 vaccine does not completely reduce infection, it helps reduce the risk of worsening; reduces hospitalizations, does not overload the health system; reduces deaths. The Covid-19 vaccine is injected after 4-6 months, the immunity decreases, unlike measles, the measles vaccine has long-lasting immunity; or people with measles have lifelong immunity. There are also vaccines that need to be injected annually, like the flu vaccine.

With Covid-19 vaccines, current assessments show that booster shots are needed because immunity wanes after vaccination. The additional shot can be given 4-6 months after the last previous shot.

The reality of fighting the epidemic in Vietnam shows the great effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine.

So when is a booster shot needed? It is good for everyone to get this shot to strengthen their immunity. However, at this time, we are still focusing on prioritizing high-risk groups, such as the elderly, people with underlying diseases, people with immunodeficiency, and health workers, so that if they are infected with the Covid-19 virus, they will not become seriously ill, limit hospitalization, and avoid death.

Currently, many provinces and cities still encourage people to get the 5th shot, such as Ho Chi Minh City, and even organize vaccinations on holidays to serve the people. Individuals who want to get vaccinated can contact the commune or ward health department for instructions.

Regarding concerns about unwanted side effects from the Covid-19 vaccine, Associate Professor Tran Dac Phu said that billions of vaccine doses have been administered worldwide , but reports on the effects after vaccination show that the analysis of benefits and risks shows that the vaccine has low risks with mild or no major reactions, so it is still necessary to use the vaccine.

Some anti-vaccine views (opposing vaccines) are due to concerns about the effects of vaccines on health, according to Associate Professor Phu, should not be worried because there are currently no reports of serious effects due to the Covid-19 vaccine with billions of injections. And the reality of fighting the epidemic in Vietnam shows the great effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Assessment of herd immunity

According to Associate Professor Phu, to prevent disease, you need to get vaccinated, first of all you need to have individual immunity to prevent disease for yourself and others.

Second, we need to achieve community immunity, because when many people do not get sick, it will limit the source of infection for others. With Covid-19 vaccines, we assess immunity to know how well disease prevention for subjects has been achieved.

For example, if a vaccine is given to a large number of people who are immune, although it does not completely prevent infection, it reduces the severity of the disease, reduces hospitalizations, and reduces mortality.

When we know that community immunity, high immunity rate means that the number of people with severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths will be low, then we will be confident in assessing the value of disease prevention solutions. With vaccines, we will need to evaluate immunity on factors such as: how each vaccine is injected, which vaccine achieves good immunity, and how effective it is for each type of subject.

Third, assessing immunity allows us to ask the question: what vaccination schedule should be followed to prevent disease most effectively (what vaccine to use, who to vaccinate, vaccination schedule) to match the reality of community immunity.

In fact, in the world, the Omicron variant that is causing the epidemic has the ability to evade immunity, but the current vaccine is still effective to a certain extent, so it is still necessary to inject. Therefore, assessing community immunity is important.

Before vaccination, there were clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine's ability to produce immunity after vaccination, which is an extremely important criterion. Now that vaccination is completed, it is necessary to evaluate community immunity to see the effectiveness of disease prevention when the vaccine is widely administered.

Vietnam has not yet announced the end of the Covid-19 epidemic

According to the Ministry of Health, although the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, that does not mean that Covid-19 is no longer a global health threat. The Covid-19 epidemic is still assessed to have unpredictable developments, always posing a risk of outbreak; new variants and pathogens are constantly changing and appearing; immunity decreases over time, and disease trends are difficult to predict. In the world, if 500 Omicron sub-variants were recorded at the end of March, this number has now reached 600. Sub-variants that are commonly circulating in other countries have also been recorded in Vietnam.

Therefore, in Vietnam, safe, flexible and effective adaptive solutions to control the Covid-19 epidemic continue to be applied. In particular, localities assessing the epidemic level and publicizing the epidemic situation will help people across the country always know the epidemic level and have appropriate prevention and control solutions. Along with wide coverage of Covid-19 vaccines, flexible epidemic prevention and control, not applying "zero Covid" as in the first phase, helps the country effectively control and prevent the epidemic and respond appropriately to the epidemic situation.

Vietnam is currently continuing to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic with a sustainable management model. The Ministry of Health has been closely monitoring the situation, not being passive in the face of new developments of the epidemic; at the same time, coordinating with domestic and international experts and organizations to regularly update and assess the situation in order to proactively make appropriate adjustments.

For the people, the Ministry of Health continues to recommend that the community proactively wear masks when going to public places, on means of transport, in closed spaces and mandatory locations; disinfect, especially hand hygiene; and get fully vaccinated.

Nam Son

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/ai-nen-tiem-mui-5-vac-xin-covid-19-185230507123646652.htm