These days, everyone is talking about the various types of Covid-19 vaccines available. There are a lot of questions on their safety, efficacy, contraindications, and side effects. Evidence suggests that even after the vaccination, one cannot lower their guard and start roaming around freely till at least 70% of the population gets immunized.
India has administered over 12.7 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine so far, according to the official data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In India, Covidsheild and Covaxin are major vaccines available, but now the Government permitted international vaccines also. There are a lot of questions on their safety and side effects. first, we will see what is a vaccine and how it works? According to the WHO, “Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases before they come into contact with them. It uses your body’s natural defenses to build resistance to specific infections and makes your immune system stronger” Now the major question, How it works?
"Vaccines reduce risks of getting a disease by working with your body’s natural defenses to build protection. When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds. It:
Recognizes the invading germ, such as the virus or bacteria. Produces antibodies. Antibodies are proteins produced naturally by the immune system to fight disease. Remembers the disease and how to fight it. If you are then exposed to the germ in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before you become unwell.
The vaccine is, therefore, a safe and clever way to produce an immune response in the body, without causing illness."
Let's talk about side effects, Mild-to-moderate side effects, like a low-grade fever or muscle aches, are normal and not a cause for alarm: they are signs that the body’s immune system is responding to the vaccine, specifically the antigen (a substance that triggers an immune response), and is gearing up to fight the virus. These side effects usually go away on their own after a few days.
Common and mild or moderate side effects are a good thing: they show us that the vaccine is working. Experiencing no side effects doesn’t mean the vaccine is ineffective. It means everybody responds differently.
There have been concerns about COVID-19 vaccines making people sick with COVID-19. But none of the approved vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19, which means that COVID-19 vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19. After vaccination, it usually takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. So it’s possible a person could be infected with SARS-CoV-2 just before or after vaccination and still get sick with COVID-19. This is because the vaccine has not yet had enough time to provide protection. This is why people get infected after vaccination.
Experiencing side effects after getting vaccinated means the vaccine is working and your immune system is responding as it should. Vaccines are safe, and getting vaccinated will help protect you against COVID-19.
Still, there is a lot to come regarding vaccines, here you can refer to some experts for your concerns regarding vaccines.
