COVID-19 and Vaccines: Everything We Should Know

Dr. Ventsislav Daskalov, the Health Center Director at AUBG, and Dr. Slaveyko Dzhambazov, an AUBG alumnus (Executive MBA graduated in 2010), hosted a Zoom meeting on Nov. 17 for students and staff members to talk about COVID-19 and the vaccines. They answered the questions of the interested audience and touched upon important topics such as the virus itself, the pandemic, and vaccines as a protective measure.

The vaccine is a good way to protect yourself and prevent the further spread of the deadly COVID-19 disease. Despite many rumors and disinformation about the efficacy of a vaccine, there is medical evidence of the advantages of being vaccinated that overrun the drawbacks.

“The protection from the vaccine is much better than the protection from the infection itself,” Dr. Dzhambazov said.

The virus can be more dangerous than immunization. The vaccine, however, does not guarantee that there will be no transmission of the virus.

“You cannot transmit something that you do not have. If you have the virus, even after you get vaccinated, you can transmit it,” Dr. Dzhambazov said.

Vaccinated people can get COVID-19 and pass it on to other people, but this is a more seldom case. The chance of this happening is three to four times less than for unvaccinated people.

“The vaccinated people reduce the transmission rate by between two and four times compared to non-vaccinated people. As a follow-up to this, there is less severity of the disease for those who get the virus and are vaccinated,” Dr. Dzhambazov said.

There is a big controversy about whether people should get vaccinated or not. Before a person decides upon this question, though, they must get informed about what the vaccine is.

“The vaccine is a coach to the immune system. We use the vaccines to introduce parts of the virus to our immune system, so it would recognize the virus the next time it enters our body and start immediately producing antibodies,” Dr. Daskalov said.

The vaccines are allowed to be used only after they prove their efficacy. They represent medical products and are produced in a very controlled environment.

Dr. Dzhambazov said, “Vaccine production is one of the most complex pharmaceutical production.”

Most of the COVID-19 vaccines use RNA from the virus as their basis. This RNA enters humans’ cells, making them produce spike protein, a specific protein from the Coronavirus. This way, the cells get the virus and build the so-called “acquired” immunity against it.

“The RNA technology is a new technology for producing vaccines, and it started really recently and after the pandemic, it proved its efficacy, its robustness in terms of production,” Dr. Dzhambazov said.

After seeing the efficacy of the RNA technology, a number of countries have made vaccination a prerequisite so that people can attend social events, go to work, and travel. That is why many people got their shots and live a normal life without restrictions or bad consequences.

The fear that the vaccine may have negative consequences on people’s reproductive systems circles around. Young men and women are concerned about whether they would be able to have children if they get vaccinated.

“If someone is concerned about their reproductive capabilities, then they should get the vaccine because the virus is the one which can cause real problems,” Dr. Dzhambazov said.

The RNA in the vaccine cannot enter people’s nucleus, where the DNA is located. The vaccine has only one cycle of life. It enters the body cell, makes the cell produce some spike protein, and then disappears.

“There is no chance that a vaccine can change our DNA or affect the reproductive system. There is no evidence that someone with a vaccine did not have children,” Dr. Daskalov said.

Dr. Daskalov is a general practitioner (GP) in Blagoevgrad. Dr. Slaveiko Djambazov is the founder and managing partner at over 20 companies related to healthcare. The two professionals shared their knowledge and research on the recent concerns about immunization against COVID-19 and the dangers of the virus.

Both Dr. Dzhambazov and Dr. Daskalov refuted the idea that the vaccine could cause severe damage to our immune system, reproductive system, and circulatory system.

“In my opinion, we should not blame the vaccine for the thrombosis,” Dr. Daskalov said. “The virus is the one that causes thrombosis. The virus affects mostly the cells inside our blood vessels. And by destructing our cells, it starts a process that ends in producing a thrombus.”

Many people wrongfully attribute the health issues they encounter, like thrombosis, as consequences of the vaccine rather than the infection. According to the two professionals, though, this has nothing to do with immunization, but rather the nature of the virus.

The vaccine may help strengthen the immune system and protect people from the deadly consequences of COVID-19. It is a matter of self-awareness whether a person wants to get vaccinated or not.

“We do not have to be so selfish. By protecting ourselves, we protect others as well,” Dr. Daskalov said.