Disappointment of those who try to advance the second dose of the Vaxzevria vaccine: the ministry denies its own decision

Dalia from Vilnius (real name known to the newsroom) tried in vain to advance the second dose of Vaxzevria vaccine throughout Monday. He needed it because a business trip was waiting for him soon. After the previous dose of the second dose (the first was given in mid-April), the woman would no longer need to be isolated when she returned from the trip.

However, in the system, no matter which city around Vilnius was chosen, it was still not possible to choose another time. Although the system showed that there were doses of the Vaxzevria vaccine in one or another vaccination center, it was not possible to reserve free coupons. The date was only released until May 16, although it was already the 24th.

Kastytis from Panevėžys, who had come across the same thing and called the editorial office, said the same thing: when trying to choose a coupon in the booking system, he only wasted his time until May 16.

Finally, Dalia thought that the vaccine could not advance because the date of the second dose had not been canceled, so she canceled it. He also received a confirmation message on his smartphone. Unfortunately, even after doing so, Dalia was unable to choose any time for the second dose.

The affected woman wrote to the hotline in 1808. She received the reply: “There is currently no way to advance the time for the booster vaccination, please try again later.”

Fortunately, even after the cancellation of the second vaccination, the woman did not lose the right to receive the Passport of Opportunity. It was issued by the system. Note that the Opportunity Passport can be obtained 4 weeks after the first dose of Vaxzevria vaccine, but after that a second vaccine is required, which must be given no later than 12 weeks after the first dose.

The Delfi portal has decided to find out why it is no longer possible to advance the second dose of Vaxzevria vaccine after Friday, although the Ministry of Health itself (SAM) announced the possibility on May 12.

“In cases where a longer pause negatively affects a person’s performance, vaccination centers have the option of assessing each situation individually and administering a second dose earlier, at 4- to 12-week intervals, as recommended by the maker.

For example, the return of graduates and teachers to contact education and the opportunity to prepare for exams can be seen as an objective justification for earlier vaccination under a full vaccination schedule, ”Julijanas Gališanskis, chief specialist told BNS of the SAM Press Service. agency.

Many people who had successfully advanced the date of the second vaccination last week were convinced that such a possibility existed, if at least four weeks had passed since the first. It’s true, as Delfi told the people who did it, though e. In health, data from the first vaccination was collected, which was somehow not seen in the vaccination centers, so the information from the second vaccination was recorded by hand at the vaccination site.

So what happened over the weekend that the order suddenly changed?

“The system does not allow a second dose of Vaxzevria to be recorded before 12 weeks. In the past, this has been the case in some cases because not all the data on the first dose of the vaccine has yet been entered into the system. national registry.

If a resident has canceled registration for the second dose, they can re-register, but currently the free coupons are only displayed seven days in advance. If less than 12 weeks have passed since the first dose of the vaccine at that time, the system will not allow you to record these vouchers.

It is also possible to renew the registration for the second dose by calling the vaccination center, where the resident was vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine ”, explained J. Gališanskis to the Delfi portal.

The interviewee clarified: “This is not a system error, in this way the dates are blocked if the person cannot register for these dates. Currently, the free vouchers are only available for next week. “

The same was confirmed by the direct line of 1808.

So Dalia did not lose her Passport of Opportunity, but after canceling the second vaccine, she lost the opportunity to re-register within 12 weeks of the first, although AstraZeneca says the interval between the two doses of the vaccine should be 4 to 12 weeks.

Wouldn’t the protection provided by the first vaccine disappear if you were vaccinated later? Professor Saulius Čaplinskas, an infectious disease specialist, assured me no. It is said that the second dose can be given a little after 12 weeks, the most important thing is not to wait too long.

“If it is recommended to fit in an interval of 4 to 12 weeks, it does not mean that vaccination is no longer possible the next day. Even a full week after midnight, it won’t be too late to get a second dose, but it’s important not to stretch any further. If around 20 weeks elapse between doses, it would be better to start the vaccination again, ”said the professor.

S. Čaplinskas mentioned another important reason why it is not necessary to wait too long for the second dose: This is very dangerous. If people don’t understand this and don’t get a second dose, we’ll do the virus a favor: it will have a better chance of mutating because They arethose who will be weak will suppress immunity, and those who are few but gain some strength will have the opportunity to reproduce without competition. This is how viral resistance develops.

In the same way, bacterial resistance to antibiotics develops: if there are insufficient concentrations of antibiotics, people with resistance can begin to develop it very intensely.

According to the interviewee, when to administer the second dose at intervals of 4 to 12 weeks does not depend on medical decisions but on policies about the unsuitability of vaccines for the first dose for all those vaccinated. The most important thing for the state is to achieve the goal of getting as many people as possible to receive the first dose, which already in two weeks provides very clear protection against the course of serious illness and death.

People have time to go somewhere between the fourth (but not before) and the twelfth week to go somewhere or for other important reasons.

S. Čaplinskas recalled that it is still worth waiting longer for the second dose: “The later you receive the second dose, the longer it will be possible to wait for the third, which will increase immunity.”

Despite all the misunderstandings, Dalia finally received a call from the Center’s outpatient clinic telling her that she had been given a new schedule for the second dose of the Vaxzevria vaccine and that she will not have to wait twelve weeks to receive it.