So far, there have been countless reports of various people who have contracted COVID-19 after vaccination. While we now have credible evidence that immunity peaked weeks ago. There is some evidence to suggest that the immunity we get in the first place may wane over time and make us susceptible to some risks again.
Vaccination: However, that is not the only possible reason for a patient to suffer a re-infection.
According to recent statistics, only 0.2%, or 1 in 500 people, tend to have a case of re-infection after vaccination.
What causes a case of COVID re-infection?
While severe COVID infections are relatively milder and cause fewer symptoms than an unvaccinated case. The alarming presence of newer variants and some differential factors, as occurs with the vaccines themselves. They could determine the odds of contracting COVID-19 weeks, or perhaps months after vaccination.
Like the disease itself, some people are at higher risk for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated than others. In addition to decreased immunity and variant concerns. There could be other risk factors that could increase your risk of getting a breakthrough infection.
As we speculate on the arrival of a fourth wave of COVID, here are some of the reasons and factors to consider:
The time you may have received the vaccinations
While early vaccination did provide vulnerable groups with some benefits and prevention. It could also mean that those who had previously been fully vaccinated could now face an increased risk of infection. If more virulent strains emerge.
The time elapsed since vaccination is also an important factor to consider. Since we now have more evidence that vaccines do not tend to confer immunity in the long term, and 6-8 months. Which would be the average duration of the antibodies generated by the vaccine against protecting us. Of course, there can also be cases where a past infection + vaccination could lead to hybrid immunity and protect for a longer time.
In particular, people with early vaccination and those facing a higher risk threshold, such as healthcare workers. They could be at higher risk in the current scenario.
The type of vaccine you receive
All of the coronavirus vaccines we have are said to exceed WHO safety standards and have proven to be very effective. But that doesn’t mean that all vaccines are the same and provide the same level of protection. Immune protection benefits and profiles are similar, but not standard. This means that certain vaccines could be much better suited for someone, or some vaccines could potentially signal higher risks of breakthroughs.
Therefore, while it is important to receive any vaccine available to you, it is necessary to weigh the relative risk reduction, that is, to what extent an individual COVID-19 vaccine reduces the risk of infection compared to the unvaccinated population. The odds of symptomatic disease, severity, transmission, and other safety profiles are also comparable.
Variants in circulation
While we are talking about a possible third wave or the possibilities of further advances, it is also important to know the type and severity of the risks we face, with the variants that may be present. A previous immunity obtained against the Delta variant can be beneficial, but as we know, most vaccines tend to reduce the protections with such variants. If more virulent strains are seen, causing more severity, vaccines may be less effective.
Immune system and other individual factors
When we talk about contracting COVID-19 after vaccination, what is also important to compare are the individual risk factors and how well equipped or robust our immune response is. While it is important to follow appropriate COVID behavior, the efficacy and protection of the vaccine also depends on individual risk factors, including previous conditions, age, history of disease, and genetic makeup.
Not only does the immune response tend to decline with age, comorbidities and chronic immunosuppressive conditions can reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine and increase risks.
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