Understanding The Importance Of Vaccinations During The COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 vaccine comes as hope. The answer to the pandemic conditions that have been experienced by people around the world in the past year. However, the journey of vaccines in establishing resistance to the COVID-19 virus has not been smooth.

Pros and cons accompany the mass vaccination process carried out by the Indonesian government. In fact, according to the SMRC survey, 25 percent of citizens do not believe in the safety of this vaccine. Meanwhile, 29 percent of the residents do not even want to be vaccinated.

In fact, the government has targets to be achieved related to community immunity or herd immunity to mark the graph of COVID-19 sufferers. The author sees that there are many factors behind this distrust.

One of them is the minimal information received by the public regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Starting from why vaccines are important to how they work. And to answer this, VOI editorial team has summarized an explanation from health institutions regarding this vaccine.

What is Vaccination?

Quoting the explanation of the World Health Organization, vaccination is the safest, and simplest step to protect humans from dangerous diseases before they come into direct contact with the virus.

Vaccines make the human body's defenses more resistant to infection from certain viruses. So, vaccines also make the immune system stronger.

Vaccines train the immune system to make antibodies, in the same way that antibodies deal directly with disease. Because vaccines contain weakened viruses, injecting the vaccine into your body will not expose you to the virus or harm your health.

Why Are Vaccines Important?

Now, in times of pandemic, vaccines are one of the most important steps to prevent the transmission of diseases and viruses. Today, there are various types of vaccines that can protect humans from approximately 20 types of diseases. Examples include diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, measles, and pertussis or better known as whooping cough.

Each year, these vaccines save human lives from infection with the disease. Therefore, WHO considers that when humans are vaccinated, they don't just save themselves. But also play an active role in saving and protecting the community.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination is one of the things that is important and needed by the community. As is known, the pandemic has resulted in a decrease in the number of children receiving immunizations. Which in the long run, can have an impact on decreasing the child's resistance to certain diseases.

Therefore, WHO also calls on countries to ensure the vaccination process runs smoothly. Even though the challenges caused by the pandemic continue to exist.

How the COVID-19 Vaccine Works

As mentioned above, vaccines can reduce a person's potential for infection. This is because vaccines work with the immune system to form natural protection. When you get a vaccine, the immune system responds in three ways. Among others:

Recognizing invading germs, such as bacteria or viruses.

Produce antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that are produced naturally by the immune system to fight disease.

If the immune system recognizes a vaccine-borne disease, the immune system will automatically form immunity to fight the virus. So, when you are exposed to the virus in the future, the immune system can move faster by defeating the virus before you become even more unwell.