No, the Covid vaccine can not infect you with the virus

South Africa has, in recent days, announced that almost nine million people in the country are now fully vaccinated against Covid.

In addition, the steady decrease in the number of new infections means we are at the end of wave three of the pandemic.

However, this is not the time to relax because the threat of the fourth wave remains very real.

We must take advantage of the lull in the rate of new infections to increase the number of those vaccinated against the virus.

While the science at our disposal tells us vaccines remain the most effective way of protecting ourselves and those we love against serious illness and Dr Saul Johnson death, we equally acknowledge the very real concerns that exist.

Many people have heard of cases where people have developed Covid after being vaccinated, suggesting that the vaccine gives people the virus.

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Having been used to fight diseases for hundreds of years, we know that vaccines work by helping the body recognise when it has been infected with the virus and it begins to activate the appropriate responses to fight the infection.

There is, therefore, a period immediately following vaccination when the vaccine “teaches” the body to fight the virus.

With Covid, this period is generally 14 days after the second jab for the Pfizer vaccine and 21 days for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Up to this time, you can still get infected with Covid, as you don’t yet have full immunity
to the virus.

When someone is infected with Covid around the time they were vaccinated, it could be that they were infected just before, or just after, being vaccinated.

Sometimes symptoms of illness could just be the body learning how to fight the virus should it actually be infected.

None of the vaccines contain actual live virus.

Also, with billions of people around the world having been vaccinated against the virus, and rigorous monitoring and evaluation processes in place, we can say with great confidence that the vaccine does not give people Covid.

The immediate susceptibility to infection is why people must continue to maintain the safety protcols, even if vaccinated.

One of the other big concerns people may have is the speed at which the vaccines have been produced and rolled out.

Just over a year after the virus was identified, the first person was vaccinated in December 2020 Since then, more than five billion people around the world have been vaccinated.

Vaccines are developed under stringent conditions, scientific rigour and adherence to ethical standards. In recent years, scientific advances have enabled vaccines to be developed more quickly than in the past.

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The speed at which vaccines are produced has, however, not impacted negatively on vaccine safety or quality.

People also ask about the side or long-term effects of the vaccine. While some people experience some side effects, many people do not.

The Covid vaccine behaves like other vaccines in that, while the body is “learning” how to fight the virus, it can seem like it has the virus.

A person could therefore have some pain, swelling, or redness where the vaccine was injected, mild fever, chills, tiredness, headaches or muscle and joint aches.

All our experience with vaccines tells us side-effects most often disappear within two to three days of having been vaccinated.

• Johnson is a partner at the health practice at the Solidarity Fund