Stay safe Stay Medicine

The information campaign carried out and directed to our student community, teachers and administrative staff is maintained based on the Protocol for Health Prevention and Occupational Safety of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), which contains sanitary recommendations and good health practices to reduce the risk of contagion from Covid-19 and thus safeguard the health of staff and students, in which everyone is still invited to take care of themselves with the already known measures.

INFORMATION OF INTEREST

A vaccine is a preparation intended to generate immunity against a disease by stimulating the production of antibodies, which are the body's natural defense system. There are currently three types of COVID-19 vaccines that are licensed:

1. MRNA vaccines

2. Vector vaccines

3. Protein subunit vaccines

How do these vaccines work?

• MRNA vaccines

They contain material from the virus that causes COVID-19, which instructs our cells to create a harmless protein that is unique to the virus, in this way the body recognizes that this protein should not be present and creates T and B lymphocytes that will remember how defend against the virus that causes COVID-19 in case of infection.

• Vector vaccines

They contain a modified version of a different virus, which in its envelope contains a viral vector (contains material from the virus that causes COVID-19). Once the viral vector enters the cells, the genetic material instructs the production of a protein that is unique to the virus that causes COVID-19, in this way our cells make copies of the protein.

• Protein subunit vaccines

They contain harmless portions of the proteins of the virus that causes COVID-19. Upon receiving the vaccine, our body recognizes that this protein should not be present and creates T lymphocytes and antibodies that will remember how to defend itself against the virus that causes COVID-19 in case of infection.

Pfizer-BioNTech

• Vaccine type: mRNA
• Dosage: 2 doses with 21 days between each
• Indications: it is recommended in people over 16 years old
• Effectiveness: 95%

Modern

• Vaccine type: mRNA
• Dosage: 2 doses with 28 days between each
• Indications: recommended in people over 18 years of age
• Effectiveness: 94,1%

Janssen of Johnson & Johnson

• Vaccine type: viral vector
• Dosage: 1 injection
• Indications: it is recommended in people over 18 years of age
• Effectiveness: 66.3%

AstraZeneca

• Vaccine type: Viral vector
• Dosage: 2 doses in an interval of 8 and 12 weeks
• Indications: it is recommended in people over 18 years of age
• Effectiveness: 63,09%

Sinovac

• Vaccine type: inactivated virus
• Dosage: 2 doses with an interval of 28 to 35 days
• Indications: it is recommended in people over 18 years of age
• Effectiveness: 91,25%

Delta variant

According to the latest reports from the Pan American Health Organization, the Delta variant predominates in the 92% of active cases of COVID-19 in Mexico, and it has also been observed that this variant has a greater impact on young people.

• It is highly contagious, almost 2 times more contagious than the previous variants.
• It continues to be studied that the probability of hospitalization of patients infected with the delta variant is higher than that of patients infected with the alpha variant or the parent strains of the virus.
• The risk of transmission continues to be highest among unvaccinated people; they have a much higher chance of contracting and transmitting the virus.
• Despite the fact that some people with a complete vaccination scheme are infected with the Delta variant, the vaccines are highly effective in preventing a high level of severity and / or death from coronavirus.

Side effects of the vaccine

Being vaccinated against COVID-19 will help us to be protected from contracting this disease but it is possible to experience some side effects, a sign that the body is generating protection. Side effects can prevent daily activities, however this situation should disappear after a few days. There are people who do not get to experience any type of side effects.

Most common side effects

In the arm where the vaccine was received:

• Pain
• Redness
• Swelling

In the rest of the body:

• Tiredness
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Shaking chills
• Fever
• Sickness

It is important that in case of presenting any symptoms you do not self-medicate, unless you have been prescribed some medication for the pain or discomfort that you may feel after being vaccinated, as well as drink fluids, wear light clothing, apply a clean, damp cloth and cold in the arm and get to exercise the arm a little.

If you have to receive a second dose due to the type of vaccine that has been applied, it is likely that you will experience slightly more intense side effects that, like the first occasion, should disappear a few days later.

Benefits of vaccination

The reasons why we should apply the COVID-19 vaccine are listed below:

• Vaccines have undergone a process of scientific studies, like all vaccines, in order to be developed and accepted for use in the population worldwide.
• They have undergone clinical trials, they are not being used as an experimental project.
• They will be constantly monitored to review your security at all times.
• Vaccines are effective at the time of contagion of the virus, since they help us reduce the risk of developing serious symptoms, hospitalizations and even death.
• Getting vaccinated not only helps protect yourself, but also those around us.
• Once the majority of the population has completed the vaccination schedule, it will be possible to gradually return to the life that we were used to having before this pandemic began; This does not mean that once vaccinated we can forget about the security measures we use today, it just means that the sooner we get vaccinated, the sooner we can get out of this situation.
• If you already presented the COVID-19 infection, you can get vaccinated. The antibodies that you develop when infected only last for a certain time, therefore you will only be immune for a defined time, the vaccine will give you a safer and more effective immunity.
• No vaccine has the live SARS-Cov2 virus, therefore, when you get vaccinated, there is no risk of getting infected with the vaccine.