Blog

Today, I received my second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, and according to current health recommendations, I am now considered fully immunized against COVID-19. Here’s a quick update on the topic.

Although my original wish for a heterologous vaccination — that is, the combination of a viral vector vaccine and an mRNA vaccine — didn’t come true, the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine still provides robust immune protection. Every vaccination is aimed at further strengthening my immune system and significantly reducing the risk of a severe course or prolonged illness. This means that, in the worst-case scenario, I would only experience a mild illness if I were to contract COVID-19 now.

Whether additional vaccinations will be necessary in the future remains to be seen. This is where the great advantage of the current conditional market approvals for vaccines lies. Adjustments to the vaccination regimen can be made quickly if scientific data shows that a different strategy proves more effective.

One thing is certain: With each vaccination, you strengthen your immune system, and the most important vaccination is always the very first one against a virus strain. From that point onward, the acquired immune system is actively trained to fight the pathogen.

Closing Words

As always, I encourage everyone to get vaccinated to stand stronger as a community against this virus and to speed up the return to normalcy.

Update a few days later: This time, by the way, there were absolutely no vaccination reactions.