Table of contents:
- The community still has to implement 3M even though the COVID-19 vaccination has been running
- Requirements for vaccines to control the pandemic
- So after vaccination can you still catch COVID-19?
- Why aren't clinical trials being carried out so that the COVID-19 vaccine is proven to prevent transmission?
Read all articles about coronavirus (COVID-19) here.
News about the COVID-19 vaccination plan in early 2021 is eagerly awaited by the Indonesian people. However, experts warn that the presence of a COVID-19 vaccine does not necessarily prevent transmission and allow people to return to normal lives as before the pandemic. The community still has to apply 3M strictly even though they have received the COVID-19 vaccination.
Why is that? Check out the following reviews.
The community still has to implement 3M even though the COVID-19 vaccination has been running
The government has announced that it will vaccinate 67% of the population aged 18-59 years for COVID-19, or around 107,206,544 people.
After this announcement circulated, many were waiting for the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine in the hope that they could immediately lead a normal life just like before the pandemic. Think the vaccination will make him immune to COVID-19.
But the fact is not as imagined, vaccines do not necessarily solve the transmission of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"The Indonesian people still have to do 3M, even after the COVID-19 vaccination has started," said molecular biologist Ahmad Rusdan Utomo, Monday (15/12).
After the COVID-19 vaccination program is running, people will still have to wear masks, keep their distance, and wash their hands (3M) for some time to come. The government must also be more aggressive in conducting 3T, namely testing, tracing, and treatment.
Ahmad explained that the basis for tackling a pandemic disease is 3 M and 3 T.
"Like a leaky tire, we certainly have to control the big leak first. Likewise in the transmission of COVID-19, 3M and 3T play a role in closing large holes. The remaining small holes have just been closed with vaccines, ”said Ahmad.
Requirements for vaccines to control the pandemic
Padjadjaran University epidemiologist, dr. Panji Hadisoemarto said vaccines can control the pandemic problem if at least two things are fulfilled.
First, the vaccine is effective in making someone who has been vaccinated immune to infection. Second, vaccination should be given to a sufficient number of members of the population.
“Vaccination coverage (in the government's plan) is unlikely to achieve what it needs to establish herd immunity, at least in the next 1 year, "said Panji in an online discussion with the Faculty of Medicine, Padjadjaran University, Saturday (12/120).
In addition, none of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates that have entered the final stages of phase 3 clinical trials are designed to prove their effectiveness in preventing transmission. This vaccine is intended to reduce the burden of severe symptoms and death from COVID-19.
So it is still very likely that the COVID-19 vaccine will not prevent someone from contracting COVID-19.
So after vaccination can you still catch COVID-19?
In phase 3 clinical trials, these COVID-19 vaccine candidates were not designed to prevent transmission but to prevent someone from developing symptoms.
So after injecting the vaccine into thousands of volunteers, researchers will wait and observe until there are volunteers who experience symptoms of COVID-19. Volunteers who are symptomatic are tested to see whether they are infected with COVID-19 or not.
After as many as 150 vaccination volunteers have tested positive for COVID-19 with symptoms, researchers will look at some of those who received the original vaccine and how many received a placebo. The difference from this figure will be reported as the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing someone from getting sick with COVID-19.
So the COVID-19 vaccine cannot be said to be able to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Because it doesn't count how many people are infected with COVID-19 without symptoms (OTG).
Why aren't clinical trials being carried out so that the COVID-19 vaccine is proven to prevent transmission?
Clinical trials designed to prove a vaccine is capable of preventing transmission should be conducted on larger volunteers and for a relatively longer time.
In addition, after being injected with the vaccine, all trial volunteers had to do PCR swabs every two weeks for one year. Then the researcher will count all positive cases, both symptomatic and asymptomatic.
"This proof requires a lot of time and costs," said Ahmad.
"Because of this limitation, in the end we have no evidence whether the existing COVID-19 vaccine is able to prevent transmission," he explained.
The impact of the COVID-19 vaccination on the population in Indonesia is to reduce the death rate and patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19. Even though the main target being vaccinated is not the group that is vulnerable to severe COVID-19 symptoms. Those who fall into the priority group category in the vaccination program include health workers, legal officials, religious leaders, and central to regional government officials.
"In conclusion, the direct protective effect is still too small, so the COVID-19 vaccination program in Indonesia has not been able to bring us back to normal life like before the pandemic," said Panji.
