By Sue-Ann Wayow
ONE dose of a Covid-19 vaccine that has a two-dose regime is simply not enough to combat the virus and its efficacy wanes over time.
For this reason, persons who had only dose were considered not fully vaccinated.
Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds, explained why the Covid-19 deaths were listed as not fully vaccinated even for persons who may have had one shot of a vaccine.
To date, there are 2,505 deaths recorded of persons not fully vaccinated based on data from July 22, 2021 to December 22, 2021.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health virtual press conference on Monday, Dr Hinds said, “If you have just one dose, that immune response wanes a lot more quickly. The reason that most of the vaccines have a two-dose schedule is to maintain the strength and the duration of the immune response for a longer period of time.”
He said, “If you had one dose and never completed in a short space of time, you are almost back to square one in terms of vaccination protection so you are counted among the unvaccinated.”
For the deaths amongst the vaccinated which up until Sunday was 176, Dr Hinds said there was a high presence of other illnesses in those patients.
He said, “With those vaccinated deaths that we have noted, usually there is the presence of severe comorbidities so additional things that really put the patient’s health status at risk, in additional jeopardy, those are the factors that are really driving the death in spite of vaccination.”
Dr Hinds encouraged all persons eligible for a booster shot to obtain one.
He said, “The other thing we have noted is the length of time between the last dose and the initial infection and that really underscores the importance of having your booster when it is scheduled, because that helps to boost the immune response and allow your system a better chance of fighting.”
