Getting a reaction after vaccination is a good response which indicates that the body functioning is normal.
“Reaction is an indication that the person’s immunity is working, and most importantly it is a sign that the vaccine is working. Getting no reaction would be worrying,” said Dr Sulien al Khalili, from the Directorate-General for Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health.
Commenting on side reactions being reported, she said, “there are people who complained pain on the side where the injection was given, sometimes fever, joint pain, headache, fatigue and so on, lasting from one day to three days, but that is it. We have not recorded any severe side effects or anyone who required admission or any situation that required urgent medical management. So, in other words, having side effects is good news.”
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With the new vaccination phase of Astrazeneca, Oman began the next phase on Sunday with an excellent response from the senior citizens, said the official from the Ministry of Health.
The vaccination drive is aimed at nationals and expatriates who are 65 years and above. Individuals do not have to register prior to their arrival at the immunisation centre.
“They just have to ensure they are in this target group, whether they are healthy or have any health issues,” said Dr Sulien.
The public should be aware of the instructions while taking the vaccine, for example, the vaccination has two doses and there will be between intervals of four to six weeks.
“They should be aware that the vaccination itself is complementary to the other preventive measures. It still means that they must follow up with all other protocols such as wearing the mask in public, washing hands regularly and maintaining the distance of two metres as well as avoiding crowded places especially gatherings,” explained Dr Sulien.
Dr Sulien said she prefers no medication to deal with the side reactions, but in some cases individuals prefer to take medicines if they experience a severe headache or high fever.
“It is important to take plenty of fluids and juices,” she added.
The efficacy of the vaccine will be gained in normal cases only after the second dosage and that too after one or two weeks.
“It is important to know that people will still be susceptible to infection after the first dosage and the person should take precautions. Secondly, whoever takes the decision to take the first dosage should stay committed to take the second dosage because one dosage is insufficient to get the desired efficacy,” said Dr Sulien.
Describing the new variant of Covid-19, she said, “You can consider them as naughty babies produced from the original virus. While the virus transfers from one body to the other we see what we call as mutation. In mutation, the structure of the virus changes, however, with the change in the structure of the virus and with time it gains certain advantages, which was not there in the original copy of the virus.”
“We have, for instance, now the variant found in the UK, in South Africa. The most alarming feature is that it can become widespread because it is extremely contagious, especially the UK variant which is found to be 50 per cent to 70 per cent more transmissible compared to the previous virus. There has also been an increase in the hospital admissions with this variant. However, this information is still preliminary reports and we are waiting for more results,” she said.
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