Sick with COVID-19 symptoms? Here's how long to wait before getting a booster shot
More and more British Columbians are getting their invitations to get their third dose of COVID-19 vaccine, competing with the rate of Omicron spread.
What happens if someone begins to develop COVID-19 symptoms right before they’re supposed to get their booster shot?
Dr. Yanet Valdez, an immunologist and the B.C. lead for COVID-19 Resources Canada, gave CTV News Vancouver some insight.
Whether someone has a suspected case or a confirmed case of COVID-19, Dr. Valdez said the answer is clear: get the booster.
“We know how infectious Omicron is and it's important for us to not give up … continue to build on these layers of protection,” she said.
But when someone should get the booster depends on whether they have a suspected case or a confirmed case.
IF YOU THINK YOU ARE EXPERIENCING COVID-19 SYMPTOMS
British Columbians with mild COVID-19 symptoms who are fully vaccinated are told a test is not needed and instead told to stay home until they feel better.
Without confirmation that the illness was triggered by the coronavirus, Dr. Valdez said the safest best is to get the booster as soon as possible.
“I will advise you to wait until you're feeling better and then get your booster,” she said, adding there is no harm in getting the vaccine if you did have COVID-19. “You're reinforcing your immune system. So you are just giving an extra push for your immune system to continue making more antibodies and T-cell responses.”
IF YOU HAVE A CONFIRMED CASE OF COVID-19
Dr. Valdez said if you tested positive for the disease to wait a few weeks before getting your third dose.
“Your immune system has already been offering you protection, so I would wait a little a little bit – a month or six weeks,” she said.
She said this is not a hard-and-fast rule and there is no harm in getting the booster sooner, adding this timeline was more relevant for those who were infected by the Delta variant and had a larger immune response.
Overall, she said not to hesitate in getting the booster, but to wait until you are fully recovered from your illness.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.