COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Center for Disease Control reports that while the majority of the Moderna or Pfizer recipients are coming back for their second dose, many are opting out, leaving them at higher risk of infection.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer doses are important to reaching an above 90% protection from COVID-19. Stop after one dose and that protection drops.
Dr. Marcia Ory, a professor from Texas A&M’s School of Public Health said that younger folks may not see the importance in getting vaccinated, much less a second dose. Ory also said there is a misunderstanding that if you had COVID-19, a second dose may not be necessary. But with new variants developing, that may not be the case.
The other thing people think is if they already had the coronavirus they don’t need a second dose but science is telling us if you had covid 19 and a mild case, that’s probably not going to protect you now that we have new variants,”
It is possible to get coronavirus after the first shot, but you do not need to start the process over and can just get your second dose after the recommended quarantine period.
“It shows you that one shot is not as effective as two. So if you get covid after the first one, you probably want to wait that period of time that people say, about 20 days and then be sure you get your second shot.” Ory said. “Just because you had covid, there’s no reason not to be fully immunized.”
You do not want to wait too long to get your second dose. Brazos county health district says it is ideal to get it within a six-week time frame.
“The idea of the booster is it gives us a tremendous boost of immunity.” Dr. Seth Sullivan of the Brazos County Health Authority said. “The antibiotic that responds and there is speculation there will be more of a lasting response as we look at other parts of the immune system that gets activated through the booster effect and so the recommendation is to get both.”
Dr. Sullivan says getting both shots is important to the health of all in the community.
“The idea here is not only do we need herd immunity, but we want lasting herd immunity,” Sullivan said. “So it’s better than nothing but it’s still not as good as it can be.”
With the vaccine supply increasing as demand decreases, dr. Sullivan says the need for vaccination hubs here are diminishing.
"As we have a more widely distributed supply and more access points, then the role of the hub diminishes,” Sullivan said. “We’re approaching that where we have more vaccines available and so we’re starting to see that inflection point, that curve where supply and demand definitely met and if anything supply now [exceeds] demand. We know we have a lot of work to do and vaccinations to provide to get to that herd immunity.”
Even if you have had covid, it is still highly recommended to get your vaccine because of the different strains which could be more infectious.
