Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines are seen at Sao Jose Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, January 19, 2021. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
YANKTON, S.D. (WNAX) — As demand for Covid-19 shots slows down, health care professionals are reminding us about the importance of completing the vaccination protocol.
That means following up for a second dose for those receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
“The first shot really primes your pump, in a way, and then that second shot is what gives you the longevity, what really gives you the immunity,” said Liz Healy, the Quality/Infection Prevention Director at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton. “So it is very important to receive that second shot.”
The hospital has been holding vaccination clinics since early this year. Healy said most people have been good about getting both shots.
For those that missed their second dose appointment, Healy said it isn’t too late, saying preliminary data show a delayed second dose does not appear to affect vaccine efficacy.
Just under 48% of South Dakotans 16 and older are fully vaccinated as of the state health department’s Wednesday update.
(Jerry Oster, WNAX, contributed this report.)
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