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A. Žvirblienė, professor at the Vilnius University (VU) Institute of Biotechnology, equated vaccination against coronavirus in a public conference “COVID-19 vaccines: challenges and technological innovations” on Thursday.
“If we imagine our immune system as an army, the vaccine is training for a real battle,” says the researcher.
A. Žvirblienė reassured those who still doubt the safety of the vaccine. According to the professor, these vaccines are designed not to cause significant harm to humans, and trying to gain immunity can have fatal consequences.
“Vaccines train and train our immune system. For this to happen, of course, we need to suffer as little as possible. We can train the immune system in two ways: disease or vaccination. Recurrence always comes at a higher price.
It is this revaccination that strengthens the immune response. If we are repeatedly exposed to the same antigen, a much stronger immune response is created and the quality of the antibodies improves ”, explains A. Žvirblienė.
Currently, vaccination with vaccines from two manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, has already started in Lithuania. So far, more than 8,000 have been vaccinated with the required two doses of the vaccine. people.
We did not find embryos in vaccines
Covid-19 vaccines, which are already registered in the European Union, are based on new technologies. These are synthetic vaccines based on synthetic RNA.
The vaccines we know best, like the flu, are based on the use of an inactivated pathogen or its proteins. According to A. Žvirblienė, these classic type vaccines against coronavirus are also available, but will not reach the market yet.
“The unique situation is that those traditional formats are lagging behind the very innovative formats. Inactivated virus vaccines, for example, are also being developed in Europe, but only by one manufacturer.
They are lagging behind in the course of clinical trials and their registration is probably the most recent, ”said the VU professor.
Synthetic vaccines are not to be feared, it is really impossible to find embryonic cells or other things in them that can sometimes be heard in public.
“A characteristic of these vaccines is that they have been developed in a totally artificial way. This means that a DNA molecule is used from which the RNA sequence is transcribed.
In this way, the sequence is packaged in a lipid envelope and used in the vaccine. No cells, no viruses, just artificially created technologies, ”says A. Žvirblienė about the production of the vaccine.
Side effects can be more serious in younger people
In addition to the efficacy of the vaccines themselves, all side effects were tested in clinical trials of all vaccines.
“Quick side effects are visible immediately and can occur in the long term after a few years. These volunteers will also be monitored for a longer period of time,” says A. Žvirblienė.
The most common side effects of Covid-19 are redness and pain at the injection site, fever, and other body aches.
During the conference, it was mentioned that several doctors from the Kaunas clinics developed slightly stronger symptoms after the second dose of the vaccine than after the first dose: diarrhea, stronger fever. According to A. Žvirblienė, this is completely normal.
“After the second dose, those reactions are stronger, purely side effects. Even for younger people, for example, those side effects can be stronger, more pronounced than in older people. That was also stated by the manufacturer.
The same was observed in clinical trials. It is also related to the activation of the immune system, there are already activated cells formed, we give them an extra dose and the reaction is stronger ”, explains the professor at the VU Institute of Biotechnology.
Herd immunity may require more vaccines
A number is often heard in public, which would mean that the country has already achieved “herd” immunity: 70 percent. of the entire population. However, when vaccinated with other vaccines for infectious diseases, such herd immunity requires a higher proportion of vaccinated, up to 95%.
A. Žvirblienė explains that due to the unique structure of the coronavirus, vaccination processes are also unique. A person with Covid-19 infects fewer people than other infectious diseases such as measles.
“Clearly, that virus is mutating and mutating in a direction that makes it more contagious. Maybe that percentage of the population has to be even higher. And in general, that 70 percent. Is a more theoretical number. But of course, this would significantly stop the spread of the virus, ”says the professor.
95 percent. Those vaccinated, at least for the moment, are also due to the fact that some groups in society, such as children, cannot be vaccinated with the vaccines that are currently used.
Current research suggests that people with coronavirus may still be resistant to the new Covid-19 infection after half a year of having the antibodies. According to A. Žvirblienė, although there is not yet 100% evidence, in case of illness, immunity can last for a period similar to that of vaccination.
“So there is a recommendation that people who are sick, even a few months ago, and have antibodies, should not get vaccinated at this time. There is no need.
If the antibodies later fall off, then you can already think of a vaccine. But the absence of antibodies does not necessarily mean that a person has no protection. We simply cannot measure it, there is a risk, “explains A. Žvirblienė.
However, the professor reiterates that for those who have not yet been sick, it is better not to wait for the disease, but simply to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“It just came to our attention then. Some have gotten sick, some have been vaccinated, these people have acquired resistance and are not getting infected. Everyone else is getting infected.
If there are people vaccinated en masse, the spread of the virus is simply stopped and even those people who for some reason cannot be vaccinated will also be protected. Vaccines aim to do this: just stop the spread of the pathogen, ”Professor A. Žvirblienė said at a remote conference on the Covid-19 vaccine.
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