On 24 February 2021, the prime minister, Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Muhyiddin bin Haji Muhammad Yassin became the first individual getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Malaysia. This event has shown the importance of COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a vaccine is a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. In fact, there are several benefits of COVID-19 vaccine.
First and foremost, it can prevent you from getting COVID-19. When a person receives a vaccine, the body will fight against the antigen and preserve the memory of the specific infection. Hence the immune system is able to respond more vigorously to repeated exposure of the same infection.
Besides that, COVID-19 vaccine can help to protect the weak and vulnerable communities by herd immunity. For example, infants, elderly and people who cannot get vaccinated due to health conditions are more susceptible to the infection. Herd immunity can be achieved when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection. Thus, these vulnerable groups can be protected indirectly from the infectious disease.
In conclusion, COVID-19 vaccine is indispensable to combat the global pandemic. When the majority of communities are vaccinated, the spread of the disease can be reduced. Based on CDC, side effects of COVID-19 vaccines are rare. Therefore we should get vaccinated to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
