Infectious Agent Explains Whether Pneumococcal Vaccine Will Help Prevent Coronavirus Complications | Lifetime



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A.Zuokienė: I think the vaccine will alleviate the disease

Agnė Zuokienė, a member of the Vilnius City Council, shared the message on her Facebook account that she had been vaccinated against pneumococcal infection to protect herself from possible complications from the coronavirus, i.e. pneumonia.

“If we inject the disease into the lungs, there will be a big problem. I do not advertise anything, but already during quarantine, I myself, apparently, for 60 euros, I was vaccinated against pneumococcus, and I think more than the hypothetical vaccine COVID-19 I mean, I’m sure the pneumococcal vaccine will stop any possible complications, even if I get sick, COVID-19 will damage my lungs minimally.

Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15 min photo / Agnė Zuokienė

Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15 min photo / Agnė Zuokienė

It is not necessary to follow my example, but I will explain my reason. As soon as the pneumococcal vaccine came out, I vaccinated all three of my children and none of them have been seriously ill since. Possible coincidence.

I myself have never had a serious respiratory illness, so I have not been vaccinated, but I have made a decision in this situation. That does not mean that COVID-19 will not damage my lungs, but I am sure that it would do much less than if it had not been vaccinated, “said the famous woman.

Explanation of the infectologist: this vaccine will not protect

However, according to the infectologist prof. Alvydas Laiškonis, this vaccine does not protect against coronavirus complications.

By the way, about 50-60 percent. adults carry the pathogens of pneumococcal infection in their nasopharynx, they are even more common among children.

“We do not bite our own pneumococci. However, when we interact with these microorganisms by communicating, speaking and breathing on each other’s faces, a foreign bacteria can cause a lot of discomfort. In children, it causes inflammation of the throat, pharynx, ears, sinuses. nasal, lungs.A very common reason why a child does not go to kindergarten or school is precisely the complications of a pneumococcal infection. All these inconveniences can be avoided by vaccination.

50-60% of adults carry pneumococci, they are even more common among children.

In adults, this bacteria is also the most common cause of pneumonia. Vaccination against it is particularly important for the elderly, as they often end up in the hospital for other illnesses and all hospitals are sufficiently contaminated with pneumococcal bacteria. They are very difficult to eradicate, which is why people often get the so-called nosocomial infection here.

Worst of all, the pathogen is usually resistant to antibiotics. For this reason, a certain group of people – oncology patients, the elderly with pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases – get vaccinated for free. However, our doctors are unaware of this possibility or are lazy, and sometimes they simply do not have time to explain the benefits of the vaccine to the patient ”, explained the doctor.

A.Laiškonis emphasized that vaccination against pneumococcal infection has nothing to do with coronavirus, because they are completely different microorganisms, but in his opinion, vaccination with this vaccine is useful only for a completely different reason.

“If we become infected with coronavirus and we contract a pneumococcal infection that is complicated by pneumonia or flu, we will have a lot of unnecessary diseases that we could have avoided. Thus, by being vaccinated against influenza or pneumococcal infection we will avoid the possibility of developing another additional disease However, if we become infected with a coronavirus and the course of the disease becomes complicated, the virus will continue to damage the lungs.

Protection against the coronavirus remains the same as before: physical distance and masks. Here I was at a performance recently and I was surprised that as soon as the light went out, the audience took off their masks. My neighbor smelled my face for four hours, and when I asked him to wear a mask anyway, he stated that it was too hot for him in a mask. Consequently, we have not yet realized that we must protect ourselves and others.

It would also really limit small events that take place in small spaces where people are sitting on each other just on their knees. In large events it is necessary to maintain a safe distance, which is also rarely done ”, concluded the interlocutor.



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