Despite getting the vaccine shot, 104 medical personnel have contracted the virus for a second time. According to the public healthcare chief, the vaccine only “is not enough” to keep us safe from the virus, and weighed in on the importance of creating cellular immunity.

“Out of the 6.670 vaccinated health care staff here in North Macedonia, 104 have contracted the virus again after receiving their first Pfizer and Sputnik V jabs. Health authorities have been saying that this is  “something normal” and that in fact, it might occur even after receiving the second shot”, says our correspondent in Skopje Ferikan Iljazi.

The director of the Public Health Care Center, Besim Zeqiri, claims that this might have happened because the doctors could have already been infected with COVID-19 when they got the shot, or it could have happened during the time interval between the first and second dose.

“The producers have said since in the beginning that no vaccine is 100% safe. There is another element here, in order for the vaccine to be safe, two doses are required. We have the first shot, a latent period, then comes the second shot and after that, another 2-3 weeks should pass before we can consider that someone is immune against the virus”, explained the chief of public health care in North Macedonia.

Zeqiri added that the risk for reinfection is still possible even after receiving the second dose because the production of antibodies only is not enough.

“The creation of antibodies is not enough, we also need T cells, and that is why we have a lot of people who are not immunized, neither vaccinated and get reinfected after being exposed to the virus”, explained Zeqiri.

The public healthcare center asserted that their vaccine stock is sufficient to inject both doses to medical personnel and meanwhile the country is expecting to receive more supplies from Pfizer, China, and COVAX.