AMMAN — So far, around 2.61 million Jordanians have received
at least one dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine, while 1.63 million have been fully
inoculated, constituting 16 percent of the population, Oxford University’s Our
World in Data initiative reports.
اضافة اعلان
Currently, six different vaccines are available in Jordan —
the three most common being Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm
Various debates and rumors surrounding the vaccine have
sprung up in recent months, making some Jordanians uneasy and reluctant to take
it.
For this reason, we are compiling key facts about vaccines
and how they work.
How do vaccines work?
There are several methods through which
vaccines can work. The 4 most common ones are:
Inactivated or weakened virus vaccines: A weakened or inactive form of the virus
that does not cause disease (
Sinopharm).
Protein-based vaccines: Harmless fragments of proteins or
protein shells.
Viral vector vaccines: A non-disease-causing virus that carries
proteins of the COVID virus (AstraZeneca).
RNA and DNA vaccines: Genetically engineered RNA or DNA that
generates a harmless protein on
immune cells (Pfizer).
Although
the vaccines may have different methods of working, they all achieve the same
goal of eliciting an immune response.
When a
body is injected with the vaccine — regardless of the type — it immediately
gets to working on identifying and eliminating the intruder. In doing so, the
body develops antibodies, which remember the shape and features of the intruder
and allow it to fight it off quicker and stronger the next time.
Simply
put, the vaccines work by having a similar shape and features as the coronavirus
and forcing us to produce antibodies that will fight the virus if we ever come
into contact with it.
Which is better?
All COVID-19 vaccines approved and currently being
administered in the country have proven to be effective in protecting against
the virus. There are currently clinical trials and studies available that assess
the efficacy (how well a drug works) of the different COVID-19 vaccines. However,
medical science is constantly subject to change as more studies and trials are
conducted.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pfizer,
AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm have respective efficacy rates of 95 percent, 63.09
percent, and 79 percent against symptomatic COVID-19 infections.
Side effects of the vaccines
Generally speaking, the COVID-19 vaccines share similar side
effects and are all relatively minor and safe. Symptoms of the vaccines include
fever, fatigue, muscle pain, bone and joint pain, headaches, pain in the
injection spot, arm numbness, diarrhea, shortness of breath, dizziness,
vomiting, nausea, ear symptoms, and sore throat.
Side effects are completely normal for all vaccines and
simply mean that the body is working hard to fight off the intruder and protect
itself against it.
A recently published Jordanian article titled “Side Effects
Reported by Jordanian Healthcare Workers Who Received COVID-19 Vaccines” compares
Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines with a complete breakdown of the
side effects for each one.
The study finds that Sinopharm has the least amount of side
effects, hence dubbed the “quiet vaccine,” as it was “significantly associated
with symptom-free vaccination.” On the other hand, AstraZeneca was found to be
most correlated to severe side effects (side effects were exhibited in more
than 90 percent of vaccine recipients), and, finally, Pfizer was significantly
associated with local side effects (exhibited in 46 percent of Pfizer vaccine
recipients). Regardless, the study found that on average, side effects only
lasted 1.39 days.
“Until now vaccination campaigns against
COVID-19 have been influenced by rumors, suspicions, hesitancy, and refusal.
There was also exaggeration and over-reporting of adverse effects of vaccines,
as some of these effects are normal physiologic processes or developmental
anomalies that cannot be related in any way to any drug and definitely not to
vaccines. Some reported side effects are either normal physiologic processes
such as teething,
while
others could be developmental conditions such as fissured tongue,” the article
read.
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