COVID-19 questions: Do you need to get vaccinated if you previously tested positive?
Thousands of British Columbians have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began and the province's top doctor says many have asked if they still need to be vaccinated against the disease.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry spoke about vaccinations – and whether this group of more than 180,000 people should get their shots – during a live briefing Tuesday.
"The short answer is yes," she said.
Henry explained officials have looked at data on antibody levels from across Canada and the world.
"One of the things we know is the antibody levels after infection can be very varied. Some people's immune response can be really overwhelmed by infection, even with a mild or moderate infection," she said.
"Some people have a milder illness and they may not stimulate the whole part of their immune system."
Henry also said that the virus has changed since the pandemic began.
"We see that with a number of other viruses like influenza where it changes rapidly and it can evade your immune response, particularly if you were infected and had a milder infection with one of the strains that was circulating a year ago," she said.
Instead, Henry explained, the vaccine gives experts the ability to measure exactly how much antigen – or what causes an immune response – a person is receiving. She also said the vaccines give a standard response that lasts "for a long time" and that they offer a "broader protection" against different strains of COVID-19.
"We also know that some people who have recovered but have had 'long COVID' symptoms actually find their symptoms get better after immunization," she said.
Of course, in B.C., those who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19 are temporarily unable to access some non-essential activities like dining in at restaurants, going to the movie theatre or attending an indoor sporting event.
Only extremely rare exemptions are being considered by provincial health officials and no exemptions to the vaccine mandate are in place for those who have previously had COVID-19.
"For a number of reasons then, it is important, even if you've recovered from COVID-19, to receive a course of vaccination," Henry said.
"It's the best and longer-lasting, durable and wide-ranging protection that you can have, even as this virus is changing over time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.