Compliments of the season to you all. I specially welcome you all to this brand new year 2022. I hope you're already on the track towards ticking off your new year resolutions. I welcome you again to the first post of the year from Paragon sleuth.
You must have been hearing about the COVID-19 booster dose and might have been wondering what it's all about. It could have also occured to you that, perhaps the conspiracy theories that have trailed the path of Covid-19 vaccines are getting justified in the long run, owing to the questionable and 'oliver twist' form that it took.
Speculations and assumptions will not do you much good as regards the issue at stake, you will need to get your hands on the trusted information and get past the myths and hearsays.
WHAT IS A BOOSTER SHOT?
A booster shot is an additional or extra dose of vaccine given after an original one has been given. The rationale behind this is to improve and reinforce the immunity of the body system against infection.
You might wonder why we need a booster when we are not even sure whether the original dose worked. The truth is that the various types of vaccines produced to combat Covid-19 has been subjected to rigorous clinical trials with appreciable efficacy on the immune system before rolling them out. And a number of people who have been vaccinated did not get to contact the disease.
WHY THEN DO YOU NEED A BOOSTER?
Without doubts, booster doses increases the antibody levels and as such, protects people against infection and prevents further spread of the Virus.
A very important thing you must know at a time like this is that the weather tends to be colder than it used to be and as such, the risk of transmission increases due to the possiblity of people gathering indoors, moreso, that people are even still on holidays. Again, it's been almost two to three months now when we got our first and second shots, this then signals a waning immunity.
Waning refers to the decrease in the number of antibodies available in the white blood cells after the initial immune response to vaccination or infection. In simple terms, take the booster dose as a refueling for your antibody tank or the reapplying of a lubricant to a region of wear and tear.
Now that Omicron variant had surfaced with its rocket speed of infection, which has even outcompeted the delta variant, there is the great need to get the booster shot, both to reinforce the immunity already gained from the first two doses and to neutralize the Omicron variant.
Although, it has been reported that this new variant spreads at an alarming rate. This is due to an enhancement in its spike protein- the region that binds to human cells, triggering infection — which was much better at helping the virus enter human cells than the spike protein of delta or that of the original coronavirus.
However, it has been speculated to affect only the respiratory tract and not the lungs, thereby, causing less severe damage as compared to delta and the wild type- original variant. The good news here is that the efficacy of the booster dose on omicron equals that of the first and second doses combined on the original and delta variants! Isn't that soothing?😍
You then ask if you can go for the booster shot even if you haven't taken the first two doses..
This is actually based on the make-up of the vaccines, perhaps if the booster works for the original variant and the answer is YES! because it's still the same vaccine, but just taking one out of three might not be strong enough to strengthen and sensitize your immune system against infection.
Take the COVID-19 vaccines like a school system where you go through grades/classes in a stepwise manner without wanting to jump any step. The first dose is like the primary school, after which you move to the secondary school(second dose) and finally to the (booster) University. Going through this whole vaccine regimen gives your immune system a richer and stronger protection. Kindly allow your immune system attend this covid-course without disruption!
HOW TO GO ABOUT GETTING YOUR BOOSTER!
Below are the guidelines that will help you:
*If Pfizer was your primary two-dose series, you can get a booster six months later of either Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.
*If Moderna was your primary two-dose series, you can get a booster six months later of either Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson.
*If you received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you can get a booster two months later of either Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer or Moderna.
- www.osfhealthcare.org
Get the brand available. To get your booster contact the NCDC on ncdc.gov.ng or the nearest healthcare facility nearest to you.
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