Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the issue of vaccination against covid has faded into the background. 16 million Ukrainians who received one dose of the vaccine, and 15 million 300 thousand of those who received two doses, it is time for a booster dose. But a little more than three million people received it.. That is, 12 million who should have made a booster have not yet done so.

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Why the booster is important. Virus Mutations.

We talked about the need for a booster at the very beginning of the vaccination campaign.. After all, when it comes to effective protection by vaccination against other infectious diseases using "

Vaccination has been carried out for more than a decade, and there are some general rules: another vaccination after a certain period of time (usually six months) significantly enhances immunity, effectiveness and duration of protection. This is how vaccination against polio, whooping cough, measles and tetanus is carried out. The immune system needs training as a reminder of the virus. Against some diseases, one reminder is enough, against others - for example, diphtheria, tetanus - every ten years. It is the booster that acts here as a kind of reminder or training for the cells of the immune system.. This allows us not only to restore protection, but also to improve it..

For COVID-19, we also received confirmation that a booster dose is indispensable, especially due to the emergence of new variants of the virus.. To date, we have evidence that two doses plus a booster is what allows a healthy young person to have reliable and fairly long-term protection against severe COVID-19.. Two doses plus a booster is much better than two doses.

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Who needs to do a booster first. Age 60+ and chronic diseases.

There are clearly defined risk groups. And they haven't changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.. We remain stable with more than 80% of COVID-19 deaths occurring in people aged 60+.

Recall that the risk groups for whom the second booster is recommended include people:.

over the age of 60;

living in care facilities for the elderly;

with a disability;

with immunosuppression;

aged 18-59 years with a medical condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 (list of conditions here);

aged 18–59 with multiple chronic conditions.

Across countries, studies clearly indicate that people with cancer, diabetes or other serious chronic conditions, or even just pregnant women, are at risk of severe COVID-19. These are the groups that need protection from COVID-19 in the first place.. In such cases, the booster, and not only the first, but also the second dose, is extremely necessary to do.

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Also a few words about the complications due to vaccination. A reaction to the vaccine may include fever, fever, pain, redness at the injection site after the first dose.. For some vaccines, the reaction is more pronounced after the second dose.

However, a day with redness at the injection site is definitely better than weeks in intensive care due to the severe course of coronavirus disease..

A severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock) to a vaccine is extremely rare. It can appear in the first seconds or minutes after vaccination.. That is why you will be asked to stay at the vaccination point for another half an hour, so that in case of a serious allergic reaction you will be given the right timely medical care..

What we fear and what we die of are two different things.. We are afraid of complications from COVID-19 vaccination, but we die from COVID-19, we have complications from COVID-19, and this is clearly proven. And here you need to use the presumption of innocence in relation to the vaccine.. We have not only some logical conclusions, but also scientific studies that vaccination protects against COVID-19. Those who are vaccinated are much less likely to experience conditions that lead to hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.

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Vaccination and contraindications.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines used in the world, and in Ukraine in particular, contains a live virus.. If a person has weakened immunity due to, for example, HIV infection or oncology, the vaccine is safe for him. Moreover, she needs.

The only absolute permanent contraindication to vaccination with a particular vaccine is an anaphylactic reaction to the first dose of that vaccine.. In this case, the patient will be advised to vaccinate against COVID-19 with another vaccine, subject to availability.. Also a contraindication is a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine, if it is fixed at the previous dose or we clearly know that there is an allergic reaction to some component of the vaccine. Therefore, we do not use this particular vaccine for this particular person..

Temporary contraindications are acute diseases with fever over 38.0 °C, administration of vaccines against other infectious diseases, plasma treatment. In such cases, you should consult your doctor before getting vaccinated against COVID-19..

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Pregnancy and chronic diseases - an indication for vaccination!

We have been living with COVID-19 for three years now and we see that the disease is acquiring the characteristics of a seasonal infection..

The omicron variant of the virus now predominates, and it is dominated by the highly contagious sub-variant kraken (XBB15). However, we cannot say what the next mutations will be, how the virus will evolve further.. So far, no strong mutations have been observed, as, for example, occurs with the influenza virus.. And, perhaps, there will be such a situation when, in order to protect against COVID-19 for the season, it will be enough to do primary vaccination and an adapted booster dose, for example, under the Omicron option..