The Ministry Of Health Says Vaccines Are Not Guaranteed To Be Free Of COVID-19, Is It Still Needed?

JAKARTA - The Deputy Governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Sitti Rohmi Djalilah was confirmed positive for Corona (COVID-19) even though she was vaccinated twice.

She was exposed to COVID-19 with her husband, Khairul Rizal, along with seven other people who lived in the house without experiencing symptoms.

The first vaccine was received on January 14. Meanwhile, the second vaccination will be on January 28, 2021.

This incident certainly adds to the list of still positive cases of COVID-19 after vaccination. Previously, the Regent of Sleman, Sri Purnomo, also experienced the same thing.

Then why can someone still be infected with the virus and become positive for COVID-19 even though they have vaccinated?

Quoted from the website of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), the COVID-19 vaccine requires two times the injection dose.

The first injection is done to trigger the initial immune response and the second injection to strengthen the immune response that has been formed.

The vaccine takes 14-28 days after the second injection to build up the optimum amount of antibodies to provide maximum protection.

When a person is tested positive after vaccination, it means that when vaccinated, the person has been exposed to/infected with COVID-19 and is in the incubation period but without symptoms.

The Sinovac vaccine is a vaccine that contains a dead or inactivated virus so it is almost impossible to cause a person to become infected.

The Ministry of Health stated that the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine has been tested for safety, quality, efficacy, and halalness.

This vaccine was developed using the inactivated vaccine method, which has been proven to be safe, does not cause serious infections, and is almost impossible to cause a person to become infected.

What is expected after vaccination is that the antibody test becomes reactive, meaning that immunity has been established.

"For this reason, it needs to be understood together that even though we have been vaccinated against COVID-19, there is still a risk of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus, but of course it is hoped that this vaccine will reduce the possibility of getting sick", said Siti Nadia Tarmidzi, spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination at the Ministry of Health.

The existence of a vaccination program does not eliminate the obligation to implement health protocols, because, in addition to maintaining oneself, it also takes time together for all Indonesian people to be able to create herd immunity.

Therefore, the current vaccination program does not necessarily make someone careless about implementing health protocols.

On the other hand, the vaccination process must be parallel to the implementation of 3M (wearing a mask, washing hands with soap and running water, and maintaining a distance) and 3T (testing or testing, tracing or tracking, and treatment or handling).

Causes of Someone Exposing COVID-19 Even though They Have Been Vaccinated

According to the Chairperson of the Indonesian Lung Doctors Association (PP PDPI) Central Executive Board Infection Working Group, Dr. Erlina Burhan, there are several factors that cause a person to get COVID-19 even though it has only been a few days for a vaccine injection. One of them is because they were exposed to the virus a few days before being vaccinated.

Moreover, said Dr. Erlina, immunity against COVID-19 cannot be formed immediately after being vaccinated. For example, in the Corona vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech, immunity can only be formed 12 days after being injected with the vaccine.

"The timeline from Pfizer, so the first day after the first dose is injected, immunity will be formed on the 12th day", said Erlina.

"Then on the 21st day the second dose (of the vaccine) will be checked for the number of antibodies, so it will be said that full immunity is achieved on the 28th day", she added.

Therefore, according to Erlina, these people could have been infected with the virus or were in the incubation period when they received the Corona vaccine, so they tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated.

Erlina explained that if the body's immunity has been formed after being vaccinated, but still exposed to COVID-19, the symptoms will not be severe.

"Indeed, the risk of contracting COVID-19 will still exist after being given the vaccine, but the risk will be lower. Even if it does, the clinical symptoms will also be mild", she said.

Minister of Health Says The Vaccination Can't Guarantee COVID-19 Free

In line with Elina, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin explained the efficacy of vaccines at a Meeting (Raker) with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday, March 15.

The Minister of Health also said that a person's antibodies will be immune to the virus after 28 days after injection of the second stage vaccine. So, if you have just been vaccinated, that person can still be exposed to COVID-19.

"Immunity is 28 days after the second injection. If they had the first injection and then they were exposed, they could still be hit.

After exposure to the second injection, they may still get it. Because of optimal protection, formed 28 days after the second injection", explained Budi.

According to him, each person's immune level is also different. There are antibodies that grow a lot, some have little antibodies.

"But with the presence of antibodies, if a virus enters, it can still be infected. But we will respond more quickly, our soldiers (antibodies) will respond quickly", he explained.

"So God willing, if we already have antibodies, the problem is not severe, we don't have to go to the hospital. But there is a possibility to get it and still be infectious", he continued.

Budi added that until now, there has been no research that confirms that if you have been vaccinated you cannot transmit or contract COVID-19.

"It doesn't exist yet", he said.

However, vaccination is still needed to maintain and protect immunity. So that the risk of transmission can be minimized.