The vaccine contains antibodies. If enough people have them, group immunity arises. Yet lately there have been a lot of talks about reinfections, but according to Levi they have not been scientifically proven. “About twenty people have been proven to have been reinfected with the corona virus. The question now is whether there is something wrong with their immune system or whether their first test was wrong, as is often the case. ”
Outcome
People also sometimes do not believe in the arrival of such a fast vaccine. “People who don’t believe in this are not close enough to the fire or simply don’t understand it.”
At the moment, according to the director and doctor, there are two vaccines that could be on the market in December: an English version and an American version. These are now being tested on humans. For example on the Levi staff. So far the outcome seems positive. “Both vaccines have been tested on 50,000 people each and we know from one of the vaccines that it caused a serious side effect in one subject. An inflammation of the spinal cord, namely. Which fortunately has passed. ”
Safe
They are not sure if that side effect is from the vaccine, because it can just happen. “But let’s assume it is, then we’ll keep it at a probability of 1 in 50,000. Then the next question is: do we think that’s safe enough? ”
That is a difficult question, according to the doctor. “My opinion is: normally you want the safety risks to be as small as possible, but you also have to weigh it against not releasing the vaccine. Then every day hundreds of people die from corona. The only remedy is to lock up society, but that also poses many health risks. ”
Go
In this particular case, he thinks we should lower the bar just a little bit. “What we also need to realize is that when we roll it out we give it to millions of people. With this we also generate a lot of extra information. If we keep track of what happens then, we get a precise picture very quickly. That may be at the expense of a few people, but we may have to accept that risk. ”
Suppose the vaccine does indeed get a ‘go’, then the English vaccine is ready to give. The Netherlands took up an option on this for months ago, so it is also coming to our country. The only question then is how much will be available, says Levi. “There is already quite a lot ready. But there are also a lot of people in the world. So the amount will not be enough for everyone at the beginning. So who do they want to vaccinate first? Countries have to think about that. ”
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Old normal
Probably most Western countries prioritize vulnerable people with illnesses or who are older, nursing homes and care workers, Levi thinks. Then it is the turn of the next group; the so-called ‘keyworkers’; police officers, fire brigade, people who supply supermarkets. That circle is getting bigger and bigger as more vaccines become available.
But when can we go back to our ‘old normal’? “The vaccination consists of two injections and then it takes a month for the body to produce antibodies. So the first group will be resistant to the corona virus in February. ”
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British corona vaccine appears to be effective in the young and the elderly
Zone
The rest of the world could then be vaccinated within two or three months. “So there is a good chance that the sun will shine again in the spring of 2021.”
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