Covid 19 coronavirus: why the vaccine did not protect the Air NZ crew member

By RNZ’s Liu Chen

Health experts urge New Zealanders to take advantage of the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine, but remind them that it takes time for the vaccine to take effect.

An Air New Zealand crew member tested positive for Covid-19 days after receiving the vaccine, and the Health Ministry says the person may not have contracted the virus from the vaccine as it does not contain any live, dead viruses. or disabled.

The first leg of the vaccine launch is underway, with thousands of frontline workers receiving their first puncture, but vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris said it did not offer instant protection.

“It takes time … you really won’t see full protection until at least a week after your second dose,” he said.

The second dose is given three weeks after the first, so it takes about a month for a person to have at least 90 percent protection, Petousis-Harris said.

“It is not an instant magic bullet and also when there are a lot of viruses out there, there is also the possibility that it will still escape, but I think we are going to see that this makes a big difference, which is why most people who getting the vaccine will be protected. “

The crew member flew in from Japan on February 28 and tested negative for Covid-19. They received their first vaccination on March 3. Four days later, they tested positive for Covid-19.

The Health Ministry said the most likely scenario was that this person was exposed abroad and was incubating or infected with Covid-19 before being vaccinated. He said that everyone who was at the vaccination site at the same time was being tested and isolated.

The Malaghan Institute’s Aotearoa Vaccine Alliance clinical director, Dr. Fran Priddy, said there was no evidence that the vaccine affected people who had already contracted the virus, but if people contracted the virus after receiving one injection, your symptoms may be less severe.

“It seems that they tended to have a less symptomatic disease, but there is not much information about it yet. Those are only initial data.

New Zealand’s first Covid-19 vaccine is made by Pfizer / BioNTech and Priddy said there was good safety data and strong scrutiny of the vaccine.

“New Zealanders should definitely take advantage of these products … they are going to be the answer to end the epidemic around the world and open borders and return to some level of normality.”

Microbiologist Dr. Siouxsie Wiles said there were uncertainties about the efficacy of vaccines against the different variants and the number of doses needed.

“I suppose what is happening around the world is that there are countries that have large amounts of the new variants in circulation that are also vaccinating a lot, so hopefully we will find out in those countries how effective the new vaccines are. “

He said that while vaccination was being implemented, people should still maintain good hygiene practices, including wearing masks.

Research from Massey University showed that 36 percent of New Zealanders were vaccine enthusiasts, 28 percent were supporters, 24 percent doubted, and 12 percent were skeptical.

– RNZ