How to deal with the fear of getting infected after vaccination

Patients who have already overcome the COVID-19 infection, regardless of the severity of the picture, have generated antibodies but are not exempt from being re-infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Just having received one or two doses of the vaccine does not prevent infection, but it does ensure that the disease will be less severe and reduces the likelihood of hospitalization by at least 70%.

The risk of contracting COVID-19 again after vaccination varies from person to person and depends on several factors. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Los Angeles showed that, Although post-vaccine infections can occur, unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than those who are vaccinated.

How to fight against contagion anxiety? “There are people who think that we have come back to the starting point, but we are in a much better position than at the start of the pandemic“he claimed Ashish K. Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island. Many scholars agree that in the long term the pandemic will end, but for this it is essential to take extreme care of protocols and health care.

What is the risk of contracting COVID-19 after vaccinations? The individual risk of contracting the coronavirus again after vaccination also depends on the health conditions of each country, the general state of health, the precautionary measures and the frequency with which we are exposed to unvaccinated people who may have the virus. “People want to be told what to do: is it safe to do it, but what we can actually do is alert them to what is more or less risky“, noted Sharon balter, director of the communicable disease prevention and control division of the Los Angeles Department of Public Health.

The researchers studied the impact of the Delta variant and the danger to the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. They analyzed the infections in 10,895 people inoculated with two doses and 30,801 people who received no injection. As the report concluded, the infection rate of unvaccinated people is five times higher than that of vaccinated people. At the end of the study period, the rate of hospitalization among those vaccinated, it was 1 per 100,000 people. The age-adjusted hospitalization rate for unvaccinated people was 29.4 per 100,000. The average age of vaccinated people hospitalized for COVID was 64 years old. Among unvaccinated people who were hospitalized, the average age was 49 years.

The delta variant accounted for nearly 90% of infections in Los Angeles at the time of the study, and it was observed that although the speed of transmission of the virus increased, unvaccinated people were five times more likely to be infected than vaccinated people.

Is a vaccinated person likely to spread COVID-19? Vaccinated people can transmit the virus. Although people the unvaccinated are the most at risk contracting and spreading the coronavirus, it is also possible that those who received both doses could be infected and contagious. Despite this, many experts believe that the risk of getting infected from a vaccinated person is still relatively low.

“When we saw epidemics, like the one that happened on the Yankees team a few months ago and other cases, people almost always have symptoms when they spread the virusJha explained. Another Singaporean study looked at vaccinated and unvaccinated people who contracted the delta variant. The researchers detected viral load decreases faster in people vaccinated after the first week, which suggests that vaccinated people may spread the disease for a shorter period of time.

Is it always safe to meet vaccinated people without wearing a mask? The risk is lower with a small group of close family and friends than with many people outside the inner circle. Infectologists insist that outdoor meetings are safer than indoor meetings.

“The big question is whether five people can sit around a table without a mask, if we know they are all vaccinated,” Jha said.. “I think the answer is yes. The chances of a person spreading the virus in this setting are extremely low. And if someone spreads the virus, the others won’t get too sick. I think most of us shouldn’t fear serious complications, to the point of not tolerating doing the things we really value in life. “

Can unvaccinated children go to school safely? The best way to protect younger children is for all adults and older children around them to have been vaccinated, since most children under 12 will not be vaccinated until the end of the year. A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained how an unvaccinated elementary school teacher who taught lessons without a mask spread the virus to half of the students in a classroom class.

Studies show that schools were not a major cause COVID spread events, especially when the necessary preventive measures are taken. Social distancing, the use of masks and bubbles for each school year are in effect.

Is a booster dose needed against the delta variant? Although there are countries like France and Israel that have chosen to apply third doses, WHO officials and members of the US FDA have assured that, at this time, a booster dose is not warranted for the general population.

Booster doses should be reserved for the elderly with risk factors, transplant patients, people with weakened immune systems or those with underlying diseases. Healthy people who have received a two-dose vaccine are protected at this time.

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