Curious About Being Vaccinated And Even Exposed To COVID-19? Listen To This Expert's Answer, Let's Calm Down!

An expert from the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Amin Soebandrio (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Many of us must be wondering, why have we been vaccinated but are still exposed to COVID-19. An expert from the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Amin Soebandrio, has the answer.

According to Amin, the presence of the virus in a person's body after vaccination is due to the incubation period. This means that the person was exposed before receiving the vaccine.

"The virus incubation process continues, so two or three days after the injection (of the COVID-19 vaccine) new symptoms of COVID-19 appear and that's quite a lot, meaning they are in the incubation period, so automatically a few days after vaccination the symptoms appear", said Amin to Antara, Monday, July 26.

Amin said the incubation process could take a few days to a week. In some cases, the incubation period even exceeds 1 week.

"We often cannot distinguish a person from their appearance, clinical symptoms, whether he is a healthy person or is in the incubation period. The incubation period can be several days to about a week, some are longer", said Amin.

Amin said the COVID-19 infection that appeared a few days after undergoing the COVID-19 vaccination was not caused by the COVID-19 vaccine that had been injected into the body.

"Moreover, the vaccine given is a vaccine that has been inactivated and is dead, so it doesn't cause infection at all", he said.

Inactivated vaccines contain parts of the virus that have been killed, so there is no risk of replicating in the recipient's body. Thus, the vaccine does not cause COVID-19 infection.

Therefore, the public is expected not to worry about undergoing a COVID-19 vaccination.

Amin said ideally someone who will be injected with the COVID-19 vaccine must be ensured to be in good health. For those who have comorbidities, but in controlled circumstances, the COVID-19 vaccine can be given.

The medical team and paramedics at the vaccine injection site or vaccination center will conduct screening or health checks. At that time, people had to be honest if they were experiencing something.

"For example, if he has a fever for other reasons, his vaccination should be postponed. If there is nothing, don't make it up," he said.

In addition, the COVID-19 vaccine used has been confirmed to be safe, because it has been tested before being injected into the community through various testing processes and clinical trials. In the manufacture of vaccines, safety is a top priority.

Vaccines are also confirmed to have the efficacy needed to fight infection with the Coronavirus.