8 March 2021 04:10 pm
The research carried out on blood samples of those who have been administered with the vaccine against COVID-19 have so far shown positive results, Prof. Neelika Malavige of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura said today.
“We have obtained blood samples of about 2,000 health workers who have already been administered with the vaccine. We can say the results are very good at present,” she told the Daily Mirror.
"We are conducting research on the immune responses to the vaccines. For instance, no one knows the answers to the following questions," Prof. Malavige said.
1. How long does immunity last?
2. How will the vaccine work against new variants that might emerge?
3. Is it the antibody response or cellular response that is most important?
4. How different are the immune responses induced by the vaccine to those following natural infection?
"These are the questions we are trying to answer. We are conducting this research in collaboration with Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, the Chief Epidemiologist and with our collaborators from the University of Oxford after obtaining all the ethical approvals and Ministry of Health approvals. We are in the process of obtaining 1-month samples after administering the vaccine in health care workers, and our results so far look good," she added.
Meanwhile, Prof. Malavige said there is no veracity in reports that are being circulated in social media that the COVID-19 vaccine causes sterilisation.
Thus, she advised people not to be deceived or panicked by such baseless reports as they carry no truth.
“It is quite baffling as to how their claim, that COVID vaccine results in infertility was created and leaked to the society. However, I reiterate that there is no truth whatsoever in it,” she added. (Sheain Fernandopulle)