Covid-19 is the name of the infection caused by the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. Although the symptoms may be mild in most people those who are at high risk can suffer from chronic complications. After one whole year of struggling with pandemic management, many vaccines have been developed, all of which offer protective benefits against the virus. Except for a few, all these vaccines are two-dose vaccines, meaning you have to get two shots of them, a few weeks apart. It is mandatory to get both doses for complete protection but what happens if you only take one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and skip the second dose?
Popular vaccine options like Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca follow this two-dose vaccine system where the patient returns for the second shot after a few weeks. However, it is a chance that some people may not come for their second dose after receiving the first one. In that case, would the body develop any immunity against the virus?
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The simple answer is yes; the body will have some immunity and enjoy protection against the virus. But it may not be as much as for a person who has received both his doses. Health experts everyone to get a second dose, after getting the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination. There is no excuse to miss this dose unless a medical professional discourages it on the basis of another underlying health issue.
This is high time people take the vaccinations seriously and get both doses. Despite all this vaccination development and research on understanding the virus, there is still a long way to go. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is continuously mutating and after the Brazilian and UK variants, the delta variant is spreading among the masses.
The delta variant of coronavirus was first seen in India that has been badly hit by the pandemic lately. All the currently available vaccines were created against the original coronavirus that was first seen in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and spread to the whole world. While there are good chances that these vaccines will work against the mutated viruses, there is also a chance for them not to work. These mutations could suppress the working of a vaccine too and if one has received only one dose of Covid-19, this is a risk factor.
The studies on this new delta variant from India reveal that people who have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech in this study) were well protected. But this study did not check the protection level after receiving one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine only. However, it is assumed that this protection will be significantly affected.
All the countries are urging their citizens to receive both doses of the vaccine. Public health organizations are worried about all those countries that still have an insufficient supply of these vaccines to provide the second dose to the citizens.
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According to Tedros Ghebreyesus, the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), single-dose vaccines are not enough to control the pandemic as the new variants have been introduced. People should take all the preventive measures, including getting vaccines, maintaining social distancing, and taking care of their hand hygiene among others.
Having the second dose of Covid-19 is necessary to boost immunity. Although the body gets to know the virus after the first dose, without this booster dose, it is not possible for the antibody response to be any strong. Without this strong response, the body may not be able to protect itself in case of a viral attack.
