23 August 2021 09:00 am Views - 130
But always advisable to get vaccination after recovery -WHO scientist
By Kelum Bandara
People get immune response after getting Covid, but it is always advisable to receive vaccination after recovery from the disease, a scientist said.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said the level of antibodies depends on whether it was a mild infection or severe infection. She made these remarks during WHO’s Science in 5 programme with Vismita Gupta-Smith. She said infected people should get vaccinated a few weeks after recovery.
So, this is why we still recommend that if you had Covid infection, that you should go ahead and take the vaccination when it is available to you because the vaccine then serves as a boost to the immune system. So, the immune system has already seen the infection once. It has seen the virus when you had the natural infection. When you receive the vaccine, it sees the antigen again. It is reminded of the antigen again. The memory gets boosted and the immune response generally gets boosted and the immune response generally gets stronger and broader and is likely to be more long-lasting. Asked when one should take the vaccination after recovery from COVID-19, she said waiting for a few weeks is recommended.
“However, there are differences between countries. Some countries recommend that people wait for three months or six months till after the infection. This is because you have natural antibodies which will keep you protected that long,” she said.
She said the countries were doing so because there are shortages of vaccine supplies, but, from a biological and scientific point of view, one could get vaccination soon after full recovery.