Jakarta (Lampost.co) – The current covid-19 vaccine is considered to have promising developments. In fact, a person is advised to get two doses of the covid-19 vaccine.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer and Moderna also requires two doses of vaccine. Where the second dose is given about three to four weeks after the first vaccine is given.
“The general concept is that the first dose boosts the immune system and the second increases it to provide a high level of protection,” said Dr. John A. Sellick DO, an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use genetic material, or mRNA, to replicate a key protein in the coronavirus, training the body to produce antibodies that fight covid-19.
Multi-dose vaccines have been around for a long time, although the mRNA technology used by Pfizer and Moderna is new. The hepatitis B vaccine, for example, takes two doses, while the HPV vaccine takes three doses.
Dr Kelly Moore MDMPH of the Immunization Action Coalition, an organization that works to increase vaccination rates, told the Washington Post that a two- or three-dose vaccine essentially stirs up the memory of the immune system.
The first dose teaches the immune cells to produce the right antibodies. The second dose reminds immune cells what to do. They will start producing stronger antibodies providing long term protection.
A study published in The New England Journal Of Medicine in December found the Pfizer vaccine protected only 52 percent after one dose. A second dose is required to reach a protection level of 91 percent, and one week after the second injection, the vaccine will be 95 percent effective.
Effran Kurniawan
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