Revaccination against COVID-19 has begun in Tajikistan. Why is it needed?

In Tajikistan, vaccination against the COVID-19 virus is mandatory for citizens over the age of 18.

Moreover, family doctors go door-to-door urging people to be vaccinated and are ready to vaccinate people even at home.

According to data from Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection, as of January 18 about 70% of the population had received the first dose of vaccine, and 60% had received the second dose.

According to independent experts, these figures are significantly overstated.

In an interview with CABAR.asia, American virologist Orash Aloi, who has been counseling Tajikistanis for the past two years, told us that two doses of the vaccine already produce antibodies in the organism. But recent research by scientists shows that the number of antibodies decreases over time. Consequently, they are less protective against new infections and new strains of coronavirus infection.

A virologist notes that there is nothing unusual about getting multiple doses of vaccines. For example, to prevent childhood polio, children receive 4-5 vaccines.

Tajikistan is constantly being guided by the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Recommendations change depending on new research and the emergence of new strains of the virus.

Currently, WHO uses a vaccination tactic of 3+1. This means that a person should receive two doses of the vaccine, one after the other, within 21 days. A third dose after six months and a fourth dose after a year.

According to Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection Navruz Jafarov, the third round of vaccinations began on January 15.

The main condition is that the break between the second and third vaccination must be 6 months. It is also necessary to have a document on receipt of the first two doses of vaccines, not to have a fever and not to be suffering from infectious diseases.

The quality of vaccines and their combination has been an issue for the last year. But Tajikistan does not have its own laboratories, so the authorities fully trust the WHO studies.

Thus, all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) are of high quality. Depending on the production technology, vaccines differ in their effectiveness.

The WHO also promotes a combination of vaccines.

Dr. Orash Aloey says that there are no complete studies on combinations of vaccines yet, but early results show that it rather improves the effect of vaccination.

Vaccination of children depends on the availability of vaccines in the country. According to the Ministry of Health, 12 million doses of vaccines are needed for the adult population of Tajikistan (the population over the age of 18 is 5.8 million) to get two doses. The number of children aged 12 to 18 is about one million.

According to Navruz Jafarov, the Ministry has already asked the Coronavirus Infection Prevention Center to vaccinate children. But vaccination will not begin until enough vaccines are available.

In total, Tajikistan has received about 13 million doses of vaccines so far.

As Dr. Orash Aloi says, children are less likely to die from COVID-19 than adults over the age of 60. Children also have an easier time with the disease. But that doesn’t mean they don’t get sick. The WHO recommends that children 5 to 17 years old with “co-morbidities that put them at higher risk for serious COVID-19 disease” be vaccinated.

However, the WHO recommendations also state that vaccinating children is “less relevant than the elderly or people with chronic illnesses and health care workers.”

According to preliminary data, vaccination in Tajikistan will take place in three stages: the first stage will cover children aged 12-18 years, the second stage for children aged 10-12 years and the third stage for children aged 5-10 years.

“There is nothing scary about this. After all, we all get the flu vaccine almost immediately after birth,” said virologist Orash Aloi. 

Dr. Orash Aloi said that the theory of collective immunity when 70% of the population develops antibodies has failed. The reason is that new strains are emerging, antibodies in our bodies are decreasing, and memory cells forget the virus.

“Now there is an opportunity to control the virus if there are no new strains and 95% of the population gets the vaccine,” believes Orash Aloi.

After vaccination, the chance of death is reduced by a factor of 10. But no vaccine protects 100% against contracting the coronavirus infection.

According to virologist Orash Aloi, in order not to get infected, you need to get the vaccine, keep a physical distance and proper hygiene, and wear a mask. If you comply with all these requirements, you can prevent the chance of contracting the coronavirus.

For example, the population of Dushanbe is one million people. If no one in this city gets the vaccine, the death toll from the coronavirus can reach 10,000 to 30,000 people. If vaccinated, the death toll would drop to 600 people. That’s a big difference in the loss of life. 

A year ago, scientists knew relatively little about the Covid-19 virus and vaccines, which created the conditions for fake news. Now, says Orash Aloi, doctors already have enough information about the virus on a number of issues.

“We now know for sure that the vaccine does not cause problems for sexual activity or for conceiving a child. The coronavirus vaccine does not harm a baby who is in the womb at the time of vaccination. Therefore, the WHO recommends that all people over the age of five get the vaccine,” concluded the virologist.