Life in Salford 33 • June 2021 26
Vaccinating Salford As more people get the vaccine and life returns to normal it’s easy to think COVID-19 has gone away. It hasn’t. If you’ve had your first dose, you might be tempted to skip the second. It is really important you go to your second dose appointment. You need both doses of the vaccine to complete your vaccine treatment and to stop you from getting seriously ill with coronavirus.
Why you need two doses One dose of either the AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine provides a high level of protection from coronavirus. Most of your short-term protection comes from the first dose. The second dose gives slightly greater overall protection but, more importantly, it increases your long-term protection – like an insurance policy.
What does the second dose do that improves on the first? The point of the second dose is to train your immune system to respond to coronavirus more vigorously. Think of it like learning to play guitar – one lesson may teach you a few chords, but you need lots of lessons to become an expert guitarist. So, if you want your immune system to become an expert at protecting you from coronavirus, then you need to give your immune system multiple training sessions.
If I can’t make it to my second dose in time, do I have to start again? No. The guidance from Public Health England is that if the second vaccine is delayed, the first dose does not need to be repeated.
When will I get my second dose? If you’ve had your first dose through the Salford vaccination service, you’ll get a text message or letter with your second dose appointment. Do all you can to attend the appointment you have been given. If that’s not possible, ring the call centre on 0800 953 0116 to rearrange. If you have not been contacted by the end of week 12, ring the call centre. Please do not contact your GP as GP practices in Salford are not involved in the appointment booking system and will only tell you to ring the call centre. Visit www.salfordccg.nhs.uk/covid-vaccine for more information.
