Should I get a COVID-19 vaccine if I have the virus?
Yes. Regardless of the previous infection, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention people should plan for vaccination when it is their turn.
“It’s a pretty simple question,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialist. “Yes, you need to get vaccinated.”
Once someone recovers, his immune system should prevent him from getting sick again immediately.
“Your immune system is able to identify the virus and protect itself,” said Dr. Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease expert at George Mason University.
Scientists still don’t know exactly how long this immunity lasts or how strong it is, although recent research suggests that protection could take several months.
It is impossible to know how long a person could be immune, said Dr. Prathit Kulkarni, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine. “There is no way to calculate that.”
Vaccines, on the other hand, are designed to provide a more consistent and optimal immune response. And it should stimulate any pre-existing immunity a person may have from an infection, experts say.
“Since we are in this pandemic and we have no problem, the safest approach is vaccination,” Kulkarni said. “You lose nothing and you can benefit.”
If you’ve been infected for the past three months, the CDC says it’s OK to delay vaccination if you want to let others go first, while supplies are limited.
“All things being equal, you want the unprotected person to go first,” Adalja said.
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The AP answers the questions about coronavirus in this series. Send them to: [email protected].
Read the previous viral questions:
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