PCR testing and vaccine efficacy during second wave

2 April 2021 09:45 am

We should be looking at other options for staffing vaccination clinics

For all the two shot vaccines, a first dose gives less protection and for a shorter time than getting the full two doses

 

COVID-19 vaccinations were a ray of hope for people who had doubts about protecting their immunity against this deadly virus. Research shows that 91% of the people who develop antibodies against the coronavirus are unlikely to be infected again for six months, even after a mild infection. 

Several people who got the vaccine complained of fever and certain side effects which medical experts believe are normal reactions. “Fever’s a fairly normal immediate reaction,” opined Dr. Ravindra Rannan-Eliya, International Medical Researcher and Director at Institute of Health Policy. “Your body has had some foreign viral proteins injected into it, and that’s just part of the body’s response.”

Several authorities also claimed that Sri Lanka has reduced PCR testing. Dr. Rannan-Eliya said that PCR testing possibly fell because the same health care staff who take the swabs in the field were shifted to do the vaccination clinics. This is unrelated to the lab staff who only process samples and are not involved in taking the swabs from actual persons, and in fact have no direct patient contact. This particular result is a bad policy. We need to maintain testing alongside vaccination, and we should be looking at other options for staffing vaccination clinics. I note here that whilst the USA and UK will criticize us for using military in the COVID-19 response, they both have turned to the military to expand the human resources available to vaccinate people.”

“I also think PCR testing is falling because the public and doctors are being lulled into complacency once again and are not being pushed to test. This is a serious mistake. In comparison, see yesterday’s testing in NSW, Australia. They haven’t had a local case for weeks and I would be 75% confident that they have zero local transmission, yet they did 17,000 tests yesterday in a population just twice that of Western Province. This wasn’t random testing, but the public volunteering to get tested, as they are encouraged to test if they have coughs or colds. Not doing this is why we had repeated large outbreaks in 2020 leading eventually to the Brandix outbreak which we are still battling with.”

When asked if a person who had received the first dose, doesn’t get the second dose on time, he said that for all the two shot vaccines, a first dose gives less protection and for a shorter time than getting the full two doses. “The AZ vaccine is only 70% effective against infection after two doses, so even a fully vaccinated person still has the risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. A person who has been injected with one dose will have a higher risk, although less than a person who has not been vaccinated at all.”