There are several vaccines that are in use.  According to the WHO, each country decides which to approve the vaccines for their own use and to develop policies on how to use the vaccines.

What are the Covid Vaccines available?

There are several types of vaccines for COVID-19 with different modes of action;

• RNA and DNA vaccines where the vaccines use genetically engineered RNA or DNA to produce a protein to generate an immune response
• Viral vector vaccines where the vaccines use a safe virus (which cannot cause disease) to produce Coronavirus proteins to generate an immune response
• Inactivated or weakened virus vaccines where the vaccines uses an inactivated form of the virus to generate an immune response and NOT cause disease
• Protein-based vaccines where the vaccines use fragments of proteins or protein shells that mimic the COVID virus to generate an immune response

Click to view FMT video on Covid vaccine in Malaysia

How the Vaccines work

Because COVID vaccines have only been recently developed, it is too early to know the duration of protection of these vaccines.  After vaccination, the body will develop an immune response by producing antibodies which will provide a degree of protection against  COVID infection.  Research has shown that in countries which have started an immunisation program, there is a decrease in the daily number of infections.  The goal of vaccination is to achieve herd immunity where around 70-80% of the population are vaccinated.

Vaccination should protect you from getting seriously ill and dying from COVID infection.  For the first 14 days after getting a vaccination, you may not have achieved significant level of protection yet.  For the 2-dose vaccines, BOTH DOSES are required to achieve the highest level of immunity possible.  However, scientists still do NOT know whether the vaccines can PREVENT you from being infected or passing the virus on to other people.  As such, you should still continue to stay safe and take care by;

• maintain physical distancing from others
• clean your hands regularly
• wear a mask outside the house

Side effects

After your vaccination, it is common to get fever, chills, headache, tiredness as well as tenderness, pain and/or redness with swelling at the injection site, all of which generally resolve within 2-3 days of rest and adequate hydration with fluids.  You can take some Paracetamol (like Panadol) but not aspirin or NSAIDs.  Avoid alcohol and strenuous physical exercises for the first few days after your vaccination.   On rare occasions, some vaccines may trigger anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction as well as blood clots. 

If your symptoms do NOT resolve within 72 hours or if you have respiratory symptoms such as dizziness or shortness of breath, see a doctor.

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