Specialist calls for two Covid vaccine doses

Dr. José Brea del Castillo, a vaccine specialist, warns that a single dose does not provide protection, and contagion can be fatal.

Santo Domingo, DR

The country has applied 10.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, but to date, only 4.4 million people have completed their two-dose schedule. In contrast, 5.6 million have been inoculated with the first dose.

A person who receives only one dose of the vaccine against the Covid-19 virus and does not complete his scheme, in those vaccines which require two doses as are all those which have been applied in the country, does not develop the antibodies which guarantee his adequate protection; therefore he can be infected, develop with aggressiveness the disease and even die.

This was explained to Listín Diario by the expert in vaccines, Dr. José Brea del Castillo when he was asked about the possibility of people who only received the first dose of the vaccine against the Covid-19 virus have not received the second dose in the established time.

The specialist warns that not completing the vaccination schedule for vaccines requiring two doses to immunize, whether it is Covid-19 or any other disease, leaves that person with little protection. In addition, it is estimated that they may present symptoms as strong as if they had not received any dose.

“Two-dose vaccines, when the person gets only one dose, they are considered partially vaccinated and can suffer the consequences of having the disease,” says the president of the Dominican Society of Vaccinology.

He points out that it is likely that the disease will be less intense, but the risk exists that they could become infected, suffer the illness and die.

Hence the importance, he adds, that people complete their vaccination schedules to reduce their risk of contagion “because the first dose could help somewhat, but it does not guarantee real protection.”

The vaccinated

This Sunday, the country had administered 10,452,130 million doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 in populations aged 12 years and older.

The first dose has been given to 5,619,234 people and the second dose to 4,369,473 people, which is the number vaccinated with the full two-dose schedule.

The booster or third dose has been given to 463,423 people, according to official data posted on the VacunateRD portal.

Only 130 new cases
Yesterday, the country reported only 130 new positive cases of Covid-19 detected in 4,050 laboratory samples tested, of which 973 were PCR-type and 3,077 antigen tests. In the last 24 hours, no mortality from the disease was reported either. However, the daily positivity stood at just 3.59%, and that of the previous four weeks continues to decline, settling in yesterday’s report at 7.51%.