Why recovered Covid patients should delay vaccination

People who have recently recovered from the Coronavirus have been asked to wait at least 3 months before getting vaccinated. This gives time to the government to bridge the gap between the availability of vaccines and wide-scale inoculation.

Why are Covid 19 survivors asked to defer vaccination right now?

While the fourth phase of vaccination kick-started and the second wave was still surging in May, the current recommendation advising Covid 19 recovered patients to wait for three months (or 90 days) after testing negative was issued.

How much immunity kicks in after fighting Covid?

Though it is known that the body builds sufficient immunity and protective antibodies after fighting Covid, the longevity of the immunity against Covid 19 is still unanswered.

Several clinical studies and trials have been performed in the past few weeks on the same. However, most of the data suggest that the peak immunity against Coronavirus lasts for around 90-120 days after the infection. After this period, it is suspected that the immunity starts to wane and may not be strong as before. Meanwhile, several factors such as the severity of infection, immune health, age and gender play a major role in the mounting of antibodies.

However, certain studies have also shown that in some people the immunity may last a lifetime. Thus, keeping in mind the above-listed considerations, it is generally accepted that the vaccine won’t be beneficial on someone during the 90 days after recovering from Covid.

Vaccine driven Vs natural immunity: Which is better?

There is reasoning that makes people believe that natural immunity is better and effective than vaccine driven (artificial).

Natural immunity is the immunity that builds up in a body naturally weeks following the recovery from fighting an infection, whereas artificial immunity is built up in the body after a vaccine is injected. The vaccine mimics the infection and trains the immunity system to recognise the pathogen. Screenings and observations have shown a sizeable difference between natural and artificial immunity. While natural immunity can offer up to 99.99% immunity, artificial immunity can only offer 90-94.5%.

There is not relevant study that suggests that vaccine driven immunity can add to the natural immunity the body builds after recovery. Thus, only after the wane of natural immunity is artificial immunity effective for a person who has had Covid previously.

Is reinfection risk high with variants?

The virulent nature of the mutations has considerably raised the reinfection and has also swelled the post vaccination infections (breakthrough ones). It is suspected that as the virus mutates, it becomes ‘smarter’ and is better coped to escape immune forces and is able to spread more voraciously, causing infection. As a result, we are observing a lot of reinfection and breakthrough cases as well, especially in those who are immuno-compromised. However, it is worth remembering that incidental risk is quite rare and may not be as scathing or severe in nature.