People who had side effects and reactions to the first dose of COVID-19 may have had a certain level of the new coronavirus in their system before they got a chance, Yahoo! Life reports.
What is happening?
Health experts acknowledge that people who get their second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine tend to experience some side effects for a day or two. But there is a group that also gets symptoms after the first dose.
Dr. Erin Morcomb, a physician at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Wisconsin, told Yahoo! Live that people who received their first dose experience symptoms because they already had COVID-19 in their system.
- ‘What we have seen in studies is that the second dose has a little more potential to cause side effects than the first dose, but for people who have had COVID-19 infection before and then recover, it is higher the risk of having the same side effects after their first dose, ”she told Yahoo! Life.
People who have previously contracted COVID-19 have an immune system that can fight it. The first shot therefore acts like a second shot for someone who did not get COVID-19.
- “After having their COVID-19 active infection, they themselves made some antibodies in their body for the national infection,” says Morcomb. “When they then receive their first dose, their body already realizes that they have antibodies, and they can produce a very strong immune response to the first dose of vaccine.”
Why the first dose is effective
It also contributes to the evidence that one dose, at least initially, may be sufficient for those who have had COVID-19. As I wrote for Deseret News, there is research that says that the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which has two shots, can create high efficacy to fight the new coronavirus. In fact, the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is 85% effective against COVID-19 symptoms after 15 to 28 days, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The same study found that it has 75% efficacy against stopping asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, also according to The Hill.
That said, experts still recommend that people get both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (or one shot Johnson & Johnson) for full protection against the coronavirus.