Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine Jab? Here's How Fast the 2nd Shot is Required; Other Things You Need to Do

COVID-19 vaccine is already available in the United Kingdom and the United. Public health authorities require the residents in both countries to take two shots of the available coronavirus vaccine.

You need to take the second shot of the vaccine a few weeks after the first jab was administered. The vaccinated people should get some degree of protection within two weeks of the first jab.

According to Independent UK's latest report, the second COVID-19 vaccine shot will give you full protection against the deadly novel coronavirus. For Moderna's vaccine, people should wait four weeks before taking the second jab.

In the case of Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, those who were vaccinated need to wait three weeks before taking the second shot.

Is it really required to wait for weeks?

As of the moment, it is still unclear if the required waiting weeks is extremely required for the people in the United Kingdom and the United States. They are the two countries that are currently rolling out the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine, which require two doses given four weeks apart.

On the other hand, the U.K. stated that allowed to delay the boosters for as long as 12 weeks. The country is doing this so that more people could take the first shots of the vaccine and give them at least some degree of protection.

However, the U.S. halted the method since the regulators claim that there's no scientific explanation that backs up the strategy. But, there's still a major concern regarding the delayed taking of the second shot.

Researchers and medical experts haven't released any confirmation regarding the period of the first dose's partial protection.

"There is no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days," said Pfizer via Independent UK.

Regulators in the United States also explained that only a few people were delayed in taking the second COVID-19 vaccine jab. This means that they don't have enough data to support the new method of taking the second shot.

Who should take the COVID-19 first?

Before you take the COVID-19 vaccine jab, you must get a COVID-19 test first. However, not everyone is advised to take the test. CDC released a guideline that people should follow before taking the test. This was published so that those who really need it could get it as soon as possible.

• Individuals who made close contact with infected people should have the test first. This is within six feet for a total of 15 minutes or more.
• People who are showing COVID-19 symptoms should take the coronavirus test first.
• Those who were referred by the healthcare provider, either state or local health department, should get the test as soon as possible.
• Individuals who participated in massive gatherings should get the COVID-19 test first. Why? Because they are at higher risk for the virus since they can't social distance properly during the activities or other events.

For more news updates about COVID-19 vaccine guidelines, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.