Top 8 covid vaccine myths and debunking them

By mid-July 2021, almost 800,000 Petersburgers had completed a full cycle of vaccination against CORONAVIRUS infection. After statements about mandatory vaccination of at least 65% of employees of state institutions of St. Petersburg, queues lined up in the city for the vaccine both in shopping centers and in clinics. The waiting time is 2-3 weeks. The 122 vaccination service received about 29,000 calls last week.

However, St. Petersburg is still far from reaching the WHO-recommended indicator of 60% of the vaccinated population, and a new rise in the incidence may come to the city as early as September-October. Yulia Sottaeva, HEAD of the epidemiological department of the South-Western branch of the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the City of St. Petersburg, warned the professional community about this at the conference “Vaccination against covid-19 . Truth and Myths.

Russian roulette or immunization

According to the epidemiologist, given the scale of the pandemic, Petersburgers today have only one choice - natural (through the disease) or artificial (through vaccination) immunization. “Today, there is no specific treatment for COVID-19,” Sottayeva explained. Treatment protocols have changed many times during the pandemic. Initially, it was the most powerful antibiotic therapy, which did not bring much benefit, because it helps with the addition of a secondary infection.

“And by and large, we have two ways. Or we remove all restrictions, cancel vaccination, people communicate, actively become infected, get sick and receive natural immunity. But doctors can imagine the price of such a path - they know what it is when there are not enough beds in "covid" hospitals, when there is such a high mortality rate. Or immunization, which minimizes the possibility of death and severe disease. Choosing between playing Russian roulette, when we can do nothing, get re-infected, but it is not known who and how will endure it all and with what consequences, and more predictable immunization, I think the latter is the best option, ”said the epidemiologist.

Myths Even Doctors Believe

At the same time, the expert complained about the abundance of fake information about vaccination, which is sometimes distributed even by HEALTH workers themselves. Maybe that's why people are so skeptical about vaccinations, she suggested. In the top myths, the representative of Rospotrebnadzor included the most common questions and opinions: