With the widespread administration of vaccines, some people have encountered additional questions about whether they can add more effective vaccines to the vaccines they received earlier if they are of a brand that does not have good effectiveness data. Doctors suggest that if people want to get additional vaccines, it is best to test their antibody levels before deciding, and to be prepared for the possibility of greater side effects.
Ms. Peng, who recently came to the U.S. to visit her family, had received the vaccine in China earlier, but she was a bit unsure. Because she had gotten the vaccine earlier, it was a vaccine developed by Sinopharm Beijing that was approved for emergency use in China earlier this year, and the official efficiency figure announced at the time was 79%, while the results of subsequent trials in Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia showed that its immune efficacy ranged from about 50.7% to 83.5%.
The two main vaccines in the U.S., Pfizer and Modena, currently have official figures of around 94% to 95% effectiveness, which is more effective in comparison. In addition, the U.S. is fully open to vaccination and there is no vaccine shortage, so she is considering whether she can get a more effective vaccine, just in case. She recently visited a pharmacy vaccine station and was told by the pharmacy staff that she could theoretically get a different type of vaccine. The employee also said that in fact, there are many local people who have recently been given the J&J vaccine and feel that it is not reliable enough, so they come to get Pfizer or Modena again to feel more at ease.
However, the Chinese infectious disease physician Huang Chongde said that it is possible to fight, but there may be stronger side effects because the previous vaccine may have made the body have antibodies, so if the vaccine is added, there will be stronger reactions, including fever, headache or chills, etc., which will be more like the side effects of the second shot. There may also be some serious side effects, such as blood clots, which cannot be ruled out.
He pointed out that although the Chinese vaccine is less protective and the effectiveness data looks slightly lower than that of Jiao Sheng, the protection against serious illnesses is still good. As to whether there is a need to add another vaccine, even if you are not afraid of side effects, you can go for a blood test first to see if there are antibodies, after all, if there are antibodies can not be rushed to fight, so it is also safer. If you are still not sure, you can also strengthen your daily protection and take some preventive measures.
In fact, even the people who have taken the Pfizer or Modena vaccine are now widely discussing whether they want to take a third shot. Huang Chongde said that it would be better for people who want to get additional vaccines to be given more than three months apart, because basically the effect of each vaccine is usually the third week after the two injections to start the highest antibodies, and then about three months to maintain, and then slowly drop down. Therefore, if you really want to take another shot, it is better to wait at least three months, preferably six months, and not to take additional shots immediately. Especially for people over 65 years old, the antibodies produced during the first shot are not as high as those of young people, so six months may not be enough, and additional shots are possible.
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