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
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.