Should I get a COVID-19 vaccine if I've had the virus? Yes. Regardless of previous infection, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says people should plan on getting vaccinated when it's their turn. It's a pretty straightforward question, said Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialist Dr Amesh Adalja. Yes, you need to get vaccinated. After someone recovers, their immune system should keep them from getting sick again right away.
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, though recent research suggests the protection could last for several months.
It's impossible to know how long a person might be immune, said Dr Prathit Kulkarni, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine. There's no way to calculate that.
Vaccines, by contrast, are designed to bring about a more consistent and optimal immune response. And they should boost whatever preexisting immunity a person might have from an infection, experts say.
Since we're in this pandemic, and don't have a handle on it, the safer approach is to vaccinate, Kulkarni said. You don't lose anything and you stand to benefit.
If you've been infected in the last 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 would want the person with no protection to go first, Adalja said
On Tuesday, a decisive phase in India's fight against coronavirus began in the wee hours as the first consignment of Covishield vaccines left Serum Institute of India for Pune airport, four days ahead of the nationwide inoculation drive launch. Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute's gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport, from where the vaccines were flown across India.
Four airlines operated nine flights to transport 56.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pune to 13 cities across the country on Tuesday, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday morning. Vaccine movement has started, he said on Twitter, adding that first two flights operated by SpiceJet and GoAir from Pune to Delhi and Chennai have taken off.