If you are already infected with COVID-19, you may be wondering if you should be vaccinated against the virus. The short answer is: yes! This is what you need to know.
The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both said that the vaccine can be offered to you regardless of whether you have already had a COVID-19 infection. The CDC says that they made this decision based on the convincing amount of evidence that it is possible to become infected with the disease again.
“We do not know the durability of protection against infections and many people who are vaccinated do not know if they are infected due to the high levels of asymptomatic transmission,” said Professor Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical. Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, told IFLScience.
A fair amount of evidence has shown that this is possible twice infected with COVID-19. At present, however, there are still many things about the reinfection of COVID-19 that we do not know about. One of the main questions is how long antibodies of an infection last. Some studies have suggested antibodies to Covid-19 can disappear within two to three months, while others suggested even mild infections can cause prolonged immunity since there is evidence of memory T cell responses. Immune memory is likely to differ between people and how severe the disease is, with severe cases likely to have a stronger immune response.
“Our data show that 90 percent of people previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 have lasting immunity – the immune response is there and it remains. But it also means that 10 percent of COVID-19 survivors have a weak immune memory and may be vulnerable in the future to a case of recurrent COVID-19 infection, or that they are more likely to infect others, ‘ ‘ explains Dr Alessandro Sette, a professor at the La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology, also with IFLScience.
“Unfortunately, we currently have no easy way to measure different types of memory T cells and B cells in conjunction with antibodies,” Sette added. ‘But even if we knew levels of antibodies and T cells, we do not have enough information to determine how much is enough to protect individuals from infections and / or serious diseases. Therefore, the standard decision is to be vaccinated. ‘
Granted, it’s also unclear how long the vaccines may eventually protect you as well, as the trials were not long enough to definitively demonstrate this, although the data so far is promising. It is has been determined that the protection against the Pfizer vaccine does not decrease for at least two months, while the vaccination of Moderna produces powerful antibodies which lasts at least three months. It is thought that the immunity will last longer than that, but the data are not yet available.
“It is likely that vaccination will also increase the levels of immunity acquired through natural immunity,” says Dr. Set.
There is also no evidence that vaccination is dangerous for people who already have COVID-19. The clinical trials for the vaccines Pfizer and Moderna do not actively recruit people who have already contracted the disease, but it is believed that up to 10 percent of participants had the virus due to the presence of certain neutralizing antibodies. As with everyone in the trial, the vaccine was generally safe, with very limited side effects. The CDC suggest that humans should wait at least 90 days after infection with COVID-19 “as a precautionary measure until additional information becomes available.”
Unfortunately, not everyone is immediately offered the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19. It can be argued that those with an earlier infection should be pushed at the lower risk and at the back of the queue and not put in the forefront. As such, the WHO suggested that individuals want to postpone their own vaccination for up to six months ‘given the limited vaccine supply’. While theoretically meaningful, it will most likely be a choice left to the individual and not contained in any rules.
‘In terms of priority, there is no system for the operationalization of those with a previous infection, so at present it is probably not a measure. And at least half with a previous infection do not know it, ”adds Hotez.
For more information on COVID-19, visit the IFLScience COVID-19 hub where you can follow the current state of the pandemic, the progress of vaccine development and further insights into the disease.