Covid-19 Vaccines with Dr. Ajoy Kumar of Dedicated Senior Medical Center Part 1

In this episode of Cafecito with Rosie, Dr. Ajoy Kumar discussed the benefits and kinds of vaccines available in the USA. Dr. Kumar was born in southern India and moved to the United States when he was five years old. His parents divorced, and he and his single mother moved from one place to another before settling in Washington, DC. He aspired to be a member of the CIA or the FBI, but after his first volunteer mission, he fell in love with the art of medicine. He then proceeded to study family medicine and eventually conducted several medical missions, delivered a lot of babies, and helped many patients. His advocacy aims to aid in the development of healthcare policy at both the state and national levels.Currently, he is taking care of senior patients at  Dedicated Senior Medical Center in Largo, Florida.

Dr. Kumar said that 8 out of 10 people who died from COVID-19 were from the age group of 65 and above. People aged 32–39 years old have a 2x higher hospitalization rate and a 4x higher chance of dying from COVID-19. People over the age of 75 have a four-times higher hospitalization rate and a 220-fold increased risk of death. People who are 85 years old and above have a 13-times higher chance of hospitalization and a 630-times higher chance of dying. This alarming data is the reason why it is important to be educated about the vaccine.

Rosie asked what would happen if everyone got vaccinated, and then Dr. Ajoy stated that we could obtain herd immunity. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient population of individuals get vaccinated and have resistance to the virus. This could drive down the rate of spread and how active the infection is in the population. At the same time, Dr. Kumar said that there would always be a population that can’t or won’t get vaccinated, but at least with herd immunity, we could indirectly protect them as well.

Dr. Kumar has educated the listeners on the types of vaccines. He said that there was no vaccine that was authorized to exactly prevent the virus, but that it would recognize a part of the virus instead. Typically, vaccines are made with mRNA, which contains a synthetically created spike of the virus that helps our immune system recognize it and eventually fight the virus. The Pfizer vaccine has a 95% efficiency. It consists of two shots, 21 days apart, for people aged 16 and up. Moderna is 94.1% effective for 18-year-olds and above, and should be taken two times, 28 days apart. There is also the Astrazenica vaccine, which is 63.09% effective and was developed on a non-viable virus and includes two shots. Johnson & Johnson has developed a one-shot and is 66% effective for mild illnesses and 86% effective for severe illnesses. Novavax is also available in the United Kingdom and South Africa. It is 89.3% effective and is a protein-based vaccine for 18-year-olds and above. In the United States, the FDA only granted emergency use authorization to Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Dr. Kumar also warned the public to never swap out or mix and match their vaccines.

 

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Dr. Ajoy Kumar

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