Infectious Disease Specialist Stresses the Importance of Sustained Covid-19 Vaccination Efforts

Currently, there is a great impasse among the population regarding the continuity of the vaccination plan to combat Covid-19, that is, many are still unsure whether they should continue to be vaccinated. Due to the duration of protection and the ideal interval between doses being uncertain, the Ministry of Health recommends for the group of people who have problems with the immune system, the elderly and pregnant women, a period of six months between vaccines, as the effect tends to be smaller for these groups compared to the others; For the general population, an annual revaccination is recommended. 

As it is a recent disease, it is not yet possible to have complete control over the virus. “With each passing day, we are learning from him. It is natural that this vaccination plan changes over time and we hope that, with more information, we can arrive at a more appropriate scheme”, informs professor Fernando Belíssimo Rodrigues, from the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (FMRP) from USP. Therefore, says the professor, the recommendations are subject to change as research progresses. 

Even with the end of the pandemic decreed by the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccines against the sars -cov-2 virus continue to be produced and distributed in health centers. According to Belíssimo, the Ministry of Health’s National Immunization Program has five types of vaccine against Covid: Coronavac, Astrazeneca, Jansen and the Pfizer vaccine, which is subdivided into monovalent and bivalent.

With the new variants of Covid-19, such as Ômicron, Belíssimo explains that naturally “we are always one step behind the virus due to frequent mutations”. Therefore, vaccines are always out of date in relation to the mutations that are circulating, however, the professor guarantees that, even so, they reduce the severity of the disease. 

Strains identified

Since the first case of covid-19, on December 17, 2019, several mutations have emerged around the world. In 2020, the Alpha variants, originating in the United Kingdom, the Beta variant, in South Africa, and the Delta, emerging in India, were the main ones identified. In 2021, the Ômicron variant, also in South Africa, in addition to being more contagious, triggered new restrictions. Brazil has also been a victim of the emergence of new mutations: the Gamma variant emerged in Manaus in 2021 and recently the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) identified the Pirola subvariant in Pernambuco. In addition to Brazil, other countries in South America, such as Peru and Colombia, have already suffered from strain identification. Asia, Japan and the Philippines also had new variants.