COVID 19 is the main cause of death in the US. It kills more people every day than any other ailment like cancer. Scientists across the globe are working to discover a vaccine; to put an end to these ever-increasing deaths. The Food and Drug Administration, last week, authorized the emergency use of the first among these vaccines, the one produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. This allows the company to distribute its vaccine across the country. It is developed to prevent the disease in people above 16 years of age. Receiving two doses of the vaccine drastically reduces the possibility of getting a COVID 19 infection.
If I Have COVID 19, Should I Take The Vaccine?
Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, told Healthline that they are really happy for having an effective and safe tool against COVID. He added that they are encouraging everyone to get access to the vaccine as soon as it is made available.Â
More than 17000000 COVID 19 patients in the country are present, and the question most of them ask is whether they need the vaccine if they already have the disease? The simple answer is “yes.”
Experts observe that those who already have COVID 19 should receive the vaccination. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), covid reinfection cases are rare, but still, a few cases are reported. CDC is working on the different aspects of reinfections. Since there are chances of reinfection, it is advisable to follow necessary precautions and also get vaccinated.
According to Dr. Chris Beyrer, a professor of public health and human rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, scientists still really don’t know how long the natural and the acquired immunities will last. Thus, they encourage everyone to receive the shot if they fulfill the other listed requirements. All the previously known variants of the disease are known to activate a short-term immunity from it. For instance, you get a common cold coronavirus, and the immunity you receive from it lasts just 12 to 24 months. After that, you go to your earlier state, and you lose your protection. This happens because the body uses a simple technique to fight off the disease. Its impression does not last long. The situation is worse for those who just had a milder infection. Thus, experts are of the view that you should get the shot even if you have COVID 19.
Certain small studies offer a ray of hope. Researchers in Australia have found that COVID 19 creates stable levels of memory cells in patients. The immunity, according to them, will last for eight months after the infection.
The scientists studied a group of 25 people suffering from the disease. Nine among them had mild or severe infections and needed medical intervention. According to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious disease at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, these memory cells help the body set up a mechanism to fight off future COVID infections. This, too, does not say how long the immunity lasts. However, the finding attests to the observation; second infections are quite rare.
Experts thus advise that people should approach this with utmost caution. They should get the shot even if they already have the infection. Beyrer says that the vaccine is safe because the people who had COVID were administered the Pfizer and Moderna trials and in the AstraZeneca trial. The thousands of participants in the trials will be monitored for two years, he adds.