Prioritise the Covid vaccine to Covid antibody-negative high-risk individuals.
Those individuals who are recovered from Covid, whether symptomatic or not, are immune from reinfection for a considerable period. Currently, 11 months after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, more than 99% of the 40 million individuals recovered from Covid, did not experience a second episode of infection.
There is plenty of published high-quality data on the sustained and robust immune response after the infection. Published data is also available on the significantly lower risk of covid reinfection in prior antibody-positive individuals compared to the negative antibody group.
Due to the shortage of Covid vaccine and the logistics involved, we are prioritising the vaccine to high-risk groups.
The antibody in individuals who are already positive will indeed wane off at a later period. Hence the positive antibody individuals may require vaccine at a later stage. But there may not be a need to vaccinate the positive antibody individuals when the antibody is still positive. There are millions of high-risk people who are antibody negative and vulnerable waiting to receive the vaccine. Let us vaccinate them first!
It may not be feasible to do antibody testing of all citizens. Let us utilise the existing seroprevalence data and find out regions ( eg. metropolitan cities with high seroprevalence and the health care workers) where we can implement the strategy best.
I recovered from Covid, and I know how bad a disease it is. I will do anything possible not to get this infection a second time. I am Covid antibody positive. I do know that this protection may not last forever. But the probability for me to get reinfected in the immediate future is far lower than my fellow citizens who are antibody negative. I do know that a vaccine may further boost my immunity and provide me with additional protection. But I do also know that there is an acute shortage of the vaccine and it may take up to two or three years to vaccinate my fellow humans across the world.
I will consider myself selfish if I take the vaccine before my antibody-negative highly vulnerable fellow citizens getting their vaccine shots. I believe this is my ethical responsibility as a social animal.
Let us all take a pledge. Those who are antibody positive will opt out until the antibody-negative, and vulnerable receive the shots.
World Health Organisation should take a formal stand on this issue. more
There is plenty of published high-quality data on the sustained and robust immune response after the infection. Published data is also available on the significantly lower risk of covid reinfection in prior antibody-positive individuals compared to the negative antibody group.
Due to the shortage of Covid vaccine and the logistics involved, we are prioritising the vaccine to high-risk groups.
The antibody in individuals who are already positive will indeed wane off at a later period. Hence the positive antibody individuals may require vaccine at a later stage. But there may not be a need to vaccinate the positive antibody individuals when the antibody is still positive. There are millions of high-risk people who are antibody negative and vulnerable waiting to receive the vaccine. Let us vaccinate them first!
It may not be feasible to do antibody testing of all citizens. Let us utilise the existing seroprevalence data and find out regions ( eg. metropolitan cities with high seroprevalence and the health care workers) where we can implement the strategy best.
I recovered from Covid, and I know how bad a disease it is. I will do anything possible not to get this infection a second time. I am Covid antibody positive. I do know that this protection may not last forever. But the probability for me to get reinfected in the immediate future is far lower than my fellow citizens who are antibody negative. I do know that a vaccine may further boost my immunity and provide me with additional protection. But I do also know that there is an acute shortage of the vaccine and it may take up to two or three years to vaccinate my fellow humans across the world.
I will consider myself selfish if I take the vaccine before my antibody-negative highly vulnerable fellow citizens getting their vaccine shots. I believe this is my ethical responsibility as a social animal.
Let us all take a pledge. Those who are antibody positive will opt out until the antibody-negative, and vulnerable receive the shots.
World Health Organisation should take a formal stand on this issue. more
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