Prevention is better than COVID
Dr Narasimhulu articulates the efficacy of a Covid vaccine
The
news of Haryana minister Anil Vij testing positive after the first Covaxin shot has sparked a debate regarding the efficacy of the vaccine.
We spoke to COVID expert Dr K. Narasimhulu, a general physician at the Gandhi Hospital. He says, “The fact is that even on the very next day of taking the vaccine, one can still test positive and it would have nothing to do with the efficacy.”
The doctor, who’s been into virology since 2003, understands from experience that a vaccine cannot be a reliable cure for the virus. Instead, he believes prevention is all we can and should do. “That being said, a vaccine is not completely useless,” points out the doctor. “It will help us control the spread of the virus. However, the doctor also believes that the vaccine itself comes with many loopholes, breaking it down for us why it might not be as ideal as we think it would be.
WHY THE VACCINE CANNOT END CORONAVIRUS ANYTIME SOON
According to the doctor, any antiviral vaccine starts to develop antibodies after 21 days to three months from the final dose of the vaccine. “Therefore, even after having taken the vaccine, it goes without saying that, for the first three months, you have to continue following all the precautions because you can still contract the virus even on the very next day after taking the vaccine,” adds the doctor. Another reason the doctor points out is regarding the efficacy of some coronavirus vaccines. “The range of efficacy of vaccines is as low as 40%, going up to as high as 90%. This means that after being vaccinated by the drug with even the highest efficacy, 10% of the people will still remain vulnerable, and can contract the virus. Therefore, even if everyone is vaccinated, we must all still follow all the precautions,” the doctor states.
Dr Narasimhulu also believes, “The virus can be easily mutated. Given the current scenario, wherein the death rate from the virus varies drastically from one geographical belt to another, it’s probable that different types of coronaviruses exist at the moment in different locations. So, one vaccine can prevent only one type of virus, not all.” “People must simply focus on taking the necessary precautions, like wearing masks, maintaining hand hygiene and ensuring physical distancing,” he states instead.