BIZLife experts: “Don’t think about which one, get the first vaccine YOU GET UP”

BIZLife experts: “Don’t think about which one, get the first vaccine YOU GET TO”

Although no one still knows when the coronavirus vaccine will be available to the wider population of Serbia, because it will primarily be provided for risk groups, their main dilemma is – which vaccine to opt for.

It was primarily imposed by the online application, which has been enabled since Monday, January 11 eGovernment portal.

Although it is not known exactly what it means to express interest in vaccination, the citizens of Serbia these days, it would be said, are frantically searching networks and sites in search of an answer to the question – whether to receive the Pfizer, Russian or Chinese vaccine.

It is not known exactly what more than 100,000 of them, as many as they applied, said they wanted to receive, but regardless of that, the dilemmas remained.

Although, if you believe Dr. Rade Panic, all dilemmas of that kind are false, because the vaccine will not be enough for everyone.

In addition to Pfizer, the Russian vaccine Sputnik V is recently available in Serbia, and the first contingents of the vaccine from the Chinese manufacturer Sinovak are expected soon.

Retired epidemiologist Dr. Radmilo Petrovic, who spent his working life at the Institute of Immunology and Virology “Torlak” and is one of the doctors who once struggled with the appearance of the smallpox virus, better known as smallpox, says for BIZLife portal that although they were made according to different technologies, all three vaccines can be considered effective and good, and from that perspective, the first one that will be available should be received.

“All vaccines are good, and I would advise that the first one that is available should be grabbed and received, but if I could personally choose, I would choose, for example, a vaccine that is from an inanimate, dead virus that cannot cause any side effects because it contains all parts of the virus with all antigens, not just certain ones “, says Petrovic.

Such is the Chinese vaccine, which should soon be available in Serbia as well.

Petrovic adds that the production of such a vaccine is very complicated and that large quantities cannot be obtained from it, and since we are in a pandemic, that is, an epidemic, it is important that we get the vaccine as soon as possible and that they work as soon as possible to control the infection.

„It is clear that vaccines are the main weapon against the disease and that they can contribute to and reduce mortality. “, says Petrovic.

He also states that it is important to first vaccinate the most endangered categories of the population, and those are the chronically ill, who are most susceptible to infection due to weakened immunity, as well as the elderly.

Speaking about the fears and distrust in the vaccine that is noticeable in the public both in Serbia and beyond, in the world, even among health workers, Petrovic literally says that these are “nonsense” and that there is no place for an anti-vaccine stance in this situation.

“It is far better to receive a vaccine, even the least good, and there are no bad ones, than to have an unpleasant encounter with the coronavirus.” , says Petrovic

He points out that it is still difficult to estimate how the situation with the spread of the corona virus will unfold, because little is known about it and that it will be better known in a few years.

“The flu virus, for example, we have known for more than 102 years and everything about it, and this is now all quite unknown,” says Petrovic.

When it comes to collective immunity, the interlocutor of the BIZLife portal says that at first it was thought that it should reach at least 60 percent, but that maybe the immune wall should be even bigger.

„The virus will then not be able to spread and multiply as much and will lose its effect when we have 60 or 70 percent of the population with immunity. “, says Petrovic.

It is assumed that it is now at the level of about 25 to 35 percent, which means that that part of the population has been in contact with the virus so far and has antibodies.

That would also mean that 35 to 40 percent of citizens should be vaccinated, ie about 2.5 to three million, so that we can calculate that the virus will be missed, explains Dr. Petrovic.

Milanko Shekler, a virologist and microbiologist at the Specialist Veterinary Institute in Kraljevo, thinks that it is good that citizens will have the opportunity to choose.

“Imagine you only have one option available, and this way there will be three vaccines because certain types are less suitable for certain categories.”, explains Shekler for the BIZLife portal.

A nurse prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. U.K. health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)

Commenting on the distrust that reigns in the public, he says that it is incomprehensible and unacceptable to him that even doctors doubt the reliability of the vaccine.

“It is incomprehensible to me and I wonder how we came to that stage to suspect something that is the greatest achievement against the virus, besides antibiotics. I also don’t understand how people who are medically educated can doubt that. Imagine that the mortality from this virus is 35 percent, everyone would fight for the vaccine and be on the list. “, Shekler believes.

He also states that every farmer who raises poultry knows how important it is for a chicken to be vaccinated, and that no one has asked about it so far.

Regarding the collective immunity and protection provided by the vaccine, the interlocutor of the BIZLife portal says that experiences and analyzes on volunteers have so far shown a very high degree of protection.

It was estimated that vaccination guarantees protection for a year, or a year and a half, and I am convinced that for someone who has also contracted the virus, that protection will last even longer.

As for the choice of vaccine, he says that the Chinese one, which was made on a dead virus, is the oldest type and that they are both the safest, but also somewhat less effective.

He points out that they are also the most expensive because they are more complicated to produce, and therefore the staff is more exposed to risks because the virus multiplies.

Source: BIZLife / Jelena Andrić

Photo: Beta / AP