Disclaimer: The guest writer opted into the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and received his second dose in July 2021. If you wish to seek further medical advice on COVID-19 vaccines, please speak to the doctors on standby at your nearest vaccination center. They can be reached by phoning 148, WhatsApp 7370095 or via Telegram @HAL_148.
First thing’s first, I want to implore our dear readers to book their COVID-19 vaccinations NOW. Getting even just the first dose already confers you some degree of protection. Our recent reported cases revealed that the vaccinated had no symptoms or were only mildly symptomatic.
Brands of available COVID-19 vaccines such as Sinopharm, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are all endorsed as safe and effective by the World Health Organization and our Ministry of Health. As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently ravaging through Brunei, there is no time to be picky! Those who are still unvaccinated should take whatever vaccine is available now. Protecting yourself from COVID-19 is the most important priority.
Why should you get vaccinated?
Being unvaccinated means you are putting yourself at risk of drowning as fluid fills up your lungs due to inflammation. Even if it’s not fatal, you will be living with COVID-19 symptoms for quite a while. Even after recovery from COVID-19, ex-patients reported to still experience things like indefinite tiredness, having constant brain fog and shortness of breath. What’s worse, these horrible complications can affect anyone – regardless of age or fitness levels.
I want you to Ignore the unfounded conspiracy theories and the unverified forwarded WhatsApp messages you may have received. Countless scientific research have consistently shown that vaccines protect you from serious ills and death by COVID-19. To erase the fear of the unknown for you, I will attempt to explain how vaccines work as well as I can. That way, you’ll have the confidence to make an informed decision by the end of this reading.
First off, let’s take a trip down the memory lane. Do you remember getting some injections from nurses who visited your schools? Yes, these vaccines protect you from diseases whose names probably escape most of us. Thanks to vaccines, there are no reports of Bruneians with viruses such as polio, measles or rubella – to name a few. Just like these childhood vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines work the same way in protecting us from COVID-19.
Vaccines work because they teach our body to fight off germs like the coronavirus (known as SARS-CoV-2). In the next section, I will use the example of the Oxford-AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine to illustrate how vaccines help us build immunity.
How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?
The main active ingredient in the AZ vaccine is modified chimpanzee viruses… 🐒
Now I’m not joking, nor is there any reason to panic. Since it is modified, it does not give us COVID-19 or any other diseases, and they do not replicate uncontrollably in our body. Picture this chimp virus as having the ability to make photocopies of the coronavirus in our body. Our immune cells, who are our body’s soldiers, will memorise how these photocopies look like and practice attacking them. The chimp virus then self-destructs after they finish photocopying.
When a vaccinated person becomes infected with COVID-19, their soldiers will recognise the coronavirus immediately as they have seen them previously in a photocopied form. They will immediately clone themselves and attack quickly before the coronavirus has time to damage your body. This is why vaccinated individuals only experience mild symptoms of COVID-19 at worst. In unvaccinated individuals, their soldiers remain naïve as they struggle to recognise the coronavirus as a threat. The coronavirus wreaks havoc on the body as they evade surveillance. Once the soldiers realise what is happening, the soldiers could overreact in their fight against the coronavirus! This causes further collateral damage to the already weakened body.
Here’s a neat animation done by Amy Payne demonstrating how vaccines work! Enjoy!
What are the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines?
Vaccines do not come without side effects. Fortunately, these are normal and mild as these mean your soldiers are practicing hard in attacking the coronavirus. When I had my first dose, I had fever and horrible chills for a few hours – manageable with paracetamol though. My fever broke after a day and voila! I’m all better. Despite the side effects, I’d rather have mild inconveniences instead of getting COVID-19 and potentially living my last days in the ICU.
There is the concern of blood clotting due to AZ vaccines which has been sensationalised by the media. However, this is a very rare side effect which is reported in only 0.001% of the AZ vaccine recipients. Here, the benefits far outweigh the risk. Compare this risk to the COVID-19 case fatality rate of 2%. The percentages speak for themselves – it’s unwise to unnecessarily risk your own health and spread COVID-19 around.
For further reading on COVID-19 vaccines, you may refer to this handbook by the British Society of Immunology. Having read it myself, I find it super helpful and glad that it’s easily accessible to the general public.
Caveat of COVID-19 vaccines
Unfortunately, no vaccine is 100% protective. You will still need to keep up with social distancing, wearing masks and maintain good personal hygiene. Biology is variable, and so is one’s immunity. A few vaccinated people can still succumb to COVID-19 infections because they naturally cannot make enough antibodies despite the vaccine. Medical professionals call this breakthrough infections. However, vaccines can still protect them from the more serious complications of COVID-19.
Even if you have COVID-19 breakthrough infection and you are asymptomatic, you are still carrying the coronavirus. Meaning you can still spread COVID-19 to others who may be more vulnerable! Which is why it’s still important to be cautious, wash our hands and remembering to scan when entering premises. Abiding by any quarantine measures imposed by the Ministry of Health would be the quickest way to flatten the curve!
It is in everybody’s interest to stop the spread of COVID-19 and avoid stretching the limits of our healthcare system. The current health infrastructure crisis in neighboring Malaysia serves as a stark warning if COVID-19 becomes uncontrolled. Let us all get vaccinated today ! That way, we can achieve herd immunity and live our lives worry-free in the new normal
Bersama melindungi!
About the guest writer
Shim Chin Yee is one of the editors at HTO and a life-long learner in the medical sciences field. His contribution in the team has helped us refine our articles to be the best quality that we are proud to publish! Let us all look forward to more written content from him in the future.