(CNN Español) – We keep getting questions from the audience about the COVID-19 vaccine. One of the most frequent is if you can mix doses of different pharmaceuticals.
This week, Dr. Huerta clarifies doubts about side effects of vaccines, about the contagion of covid-19 after being vaccinated and about whether the Spanish flu has been eradicated or not.
You can listen to this episode on Spotify or your favorite podcast platform or read the transcript below.
Hello, I am Dr. Elmer Huerta and this is your daily dose of information about the new coronavirus. Information that we hope will be useful to take care of your health and that of your family.
Recurring questions about the vaccine
Mixing the Covid-19 Vaccine Doses
Undoubtedly, and for the third week in a row, the most frequent question asked by dozens of listeners is whether it is possible to mix vaccines of different types, for example, some say that they were vaccinated with Sinovac, Sinopharm, Cansino, AstraZeneca, the Sputnik V vaccine, or Johnson & Johnson, and they want to know if they can now get vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna.
This is our answer:
As we heard in the May 19 and June 2 episodes, the only published scientific studies on combination vaccines are those that have been done with the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. British, Spanish and German studies have shown that these two vaccines can be combined.
Regarding Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, while the CDC in the United States considers that they are not interchangeable, Canada does. That is, in that country you can start with one and end with the other.
Regarding combining vaccines, Denmark, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden, in addition to Canada, allow starting with the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine and ending with a messenger RNA vaccine. Canada allows the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to be combined in any order.
As there are no scientific studies on the safety of other combinations, unfortunately we cannot give any advice and the person who decides should do so at their own risk.
Doubts about the covid-19 vaccine: what to do in particular situations?
@drhuerta good afternoon, are there any contraindications for donating blood before receiving the covid vaccine? 24 hours before.
– Jesus gomez (@ jegova1976) June 22, 2021
Very good question, Jesus. There is no problem for you to get vaccinated after donating blood. Donating blood causes a very slight physiological change in your body, which is compensated immediately and does not prevent you from being vaccinated.
Dear Doctor, a consultation I have been vaccinated against covid both doses with the shinopharm vaccine (June 10 last dose), today I was bitten by a dog I need to know if I can get the rabies drug. Thank you
– Cluu C. (CluuAc8) June 23, 2021
Hello, Cluu. Of course, if your doctor authorizes that you need the series of rabies vaccines, you can do it without any problem.
Dr, what happens if I take the second dose 2 weeks after the first?
– Carmen Lemus (@carmenlemus) June 23, 2021
Hi carmen. Unless it was by accident, there is no reason to believe that advancing the dose of a vaccine will be of any benefit. Remember that the optimal range has been determined by Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies of the vaccines.
@drhuerta doctor good morning please wanted to consult you at the vaccination center they told my wife that she could not get vaccinated after having covid unless 90 days have passed, is this true?
– LUIS SIHUAY ELIAS (@LUISIHUAY) June 23, 2021
Hi Luis. The reason why some health ministries recommend waiting until 90 days is because the natural immunity, caused by the disease, protects at least until that date. In the United States, the CDC says that vaccination can be done at any time after overcoming the disease, but they also recommend that you could wait 90 days.
@drhuerta more than Pfizer modern and astra vaccines, which others protect against delta variant
– patricio (@ PatricioCostal2) June 23, 2021
The published studies have been done with those vaccines, Patricio. We are not aware of similar published studies with other vaccines.
@drhuerta I placed the 1st dose of the Chinese vaccine and I lost my sense of smell .. it is normal I go on my 1st day of said dose .. thanks for the answer
— GarycitoParada (@GarycitoP) June 26, 2021
Hi, Garycito. Loss of taste or smell has not been reported as a side effect of the vaccine. One possibility is that you were infected before the vaccine, and that is your only symptom of covid-19. Consult with your doctor, please.
@drhuerta hello dr. Huerta, what you share with us is very interesting. I have a question: if I applied a third dose of Pfizer 21 days after the second, is it risky? Or if the 3rd dose is Astra or Jhonson?
– Alfredo Muñoz (@ tessymar07) June 26, 2021
Hi Alfredo. I don’t think that a third dose of vaccine so close to the second dose will be of any benefit. Remember that optimal vaccine administration intervals have been determined by Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies of the vaccines.
Just in case, I tell you that the need for a third dose (and when to administer it) have not yet been determined.
Dr Huerta, I am from Honduras, they gave me the first dose of Sputnik V on 5/24, supposedly the second would be given on 6/24 to this date, we do not know when they will give us the second dose, until how long after the first one can wait for the second.
— wilfredo castro e. (@wilfred03598556) June 26, 2021
Hi Wilfredo. Some countries – like Argentina – have been administering the second dose of Sputnik V for up to three months after the first, so you could wait that long.
@drhuerta in the Dominican Republic they are indicating a third dose of vaccine. I have two synovac and three months to put it. Now I would have one other than Sinovac. That is approved I am 77 years old. Thanks
– Rosa Stella Troncoso (@Tetelatroncoso) June 25, 2021
Hello rosa. Each regulatory entity has its own criteria for making public health recommendations in its country. I am not aware of any scientific study that has looked at that combination, however, you may want to ask your GP.
Doctor Huerta, what does it mean that some people find the second dose of the vaccine very hard: fever, vomiting, malaise and deep sleep?
— olf@logos (@olfuentes) June 25, 2021
Hello, Olf. It is not well known why this reaction occurs, but it has not been proven that people who have a greater reaction is because they have a stronger defense system than those who do not. Each person reacts differently to vaccines and medicines.
I have the same question @ drhuerta. Vaccines are supposed to prevent 100% serious cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Why would a vaccinated person die from COVID then? They are deceiving us regarding the effectiveness
– Augusto Rodriguez (@ Ajustin26374833) June 25, 2021
Hello, Augusto. It would be wonderful if there is some medicine or, by extension, any medical intervention that is 100% effective. Due to the enormous biological diversity of human beings, that sadly does not exist. In the same way that there are people who do not respond to some medicine, there is always the minimum possibility that someone completely vaccinated could become ill or die.
Questions about the contagion of covid-19
Dr. Huerta, can people vaccinated with the two doses of PFIZER spread covid?
Thanks– Raquel Solórzano (@ RaquelSolrzano1) June 23, 2021
Hello Rachel. According to the director of the United States CDC, this possibility is very low, which is why these centers have raised the request for the use of masks for fully vaccinated people.
Question dr, is there a need to change clothes and bathe (including hair) when we go out to the street and return home ??? ????
— Blue Raspberry (@BlueRaspberryW) June 23, 2021
Hi, Blue. No, it is no longer necessary to do that. At the beginning of the pandemic, when the mode of transmission of the infection was not yet known, it was thought that this might be necessary. It is now known that the main mode of contagion of COVID-19 is aerosols produced by breathing.
Estimated @drhuerta, a COVID patient who has just been discharged, after being hospitalized for 2 weeks, must remain in quarantine or can he already be in direct contact with other people? That is, when a patient is discharged, is it because they no longer have COVID?
Thanks.– HeberG (@ HeberGaspar1) June 23, 2021
Hello, Heber. A hospitalized patient can remain contagious for at least 20 days after symptoms begin. You must follow the doctor’s instructions.
https://twitter.com/Alexan724/status/1408571685935226881
Hi Alexandra. You do not need to start the series again, as if you had not already received the first one. You only need the second dose, which you can receive 90 days after having overcome the disease.
@drhuerta Good morning doctor, what time do you have to spend to test negative after I had covid 19? without symptoms
– Alberto (@ Alberto87928061) June 25, 2021
Hello Alberto. 10 days after the first symptom began, the test should already be negative, although, as we have mentioned in previous episodes, approximately 10% of people who have had the disease may have persistently positive molecular tests. This positivity is explained because the test still detects small sequences of the virus, giving false positive tests, which is why they are not contagious. In the case of asymptomatic people, it is considered as day one of the day the test was performed.
Other questions from the audience
Dr. I just signed up to be a candidate for the Sanofi Vaccine Phase III study. I did it with determination, but now I have doubts. I admired when you participated in the modern clinical trial. What is your opinion of the Sanofi vaccine? What do you recommend? Thanks!
– Fabricio Ismael Murillo (@fabricioism) June 26, 2021
Hi, Fabricio. What is known is that the Sanofi laboratory provides the vaccine antigen, which is composed of the proteins of the virus spike, and the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) laboratory provides a substance that enhances the activity of the defense system.
Just like when I took part in the Moderna study, of which it was not known whether it would work or not, nor the side effects it might cause, at this time it is not known what could happen to the Sanofi vaccine. My decision was a very personal determination.
If you are not sure of your participation, do not do it. If something happens, you may regret it.
Hi dr. Huerta wanted to ask you if the Spanish flu was eradicated or is he still with us?
— John (@John80819957) June 24, 2021
Excellent question, John. In accordance with Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger, who was part of the scientific team that first isolated and sequenced the genome of the 1918 flu virus in the late 1990s, that virus became extinct after infecting a third of humanity .
This extinction, explained by the phenomenon of “antigenic drift”, or “antigenic drift” in English, caused the virus genome to be diluted, so to speak.
However, says Dr. Taubenberger, the descendants of that virus have appeared from time to time causing other major epidemics.
Do you have questions about the coronavirus?
Send me your questions on Twitter, we will try to answer them in our next episodes. You can find me at @DrHuerta.
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If you have any questions you can send it to doctor Elmer Huerta via Twitter. You can also go to CNNE.com/coronaviruspodcast for all episodes of our podcast «Coronavirus: Reality vs. fiction”.
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