When can you get vaccinated after suffering from COVID-19: doctors inform

When not to vaccinate

Vaccinations play a large role in the formation of acquired immunity against infectious diseases.
After vaccination, a person's immune system begins to produce antibodies to fight the infection. If in the future the body encounters the causative agent of this disease, the immune system will turn on its protective reaction and will not give it a chance. However, vaccinations, on the one hand, do not provide a 100% guarantee, and, on the other hand, they are fraught with complications. But the degree of protection against infection can be increased, and complications can be prevented. And here a strong immune system plays a major role.

A child who has a weakened immune system should not be vaccinated. If the baby has recently been sick or someone close to you in the family is sick, then you need to wait a bit with the vaccination. In addition, it is necessary to make sure in advance that there are no parasites in the body, since a parasitic infection significantly reduces the effectiveness of the vaccine and provokes the development of complications after vaccinations .

False Negatives

Express test systems most often show false negative results for coronavirus, Gorelov said. “The test systems are all completely different, the key aspects are the sensitivity and specificity of the test systems. If you choose a test system with a specificity higher than 92%, there can be no error. Most often, false negative results occur when using so-called rapid test systems, when you need the result in 15-20 minutes. It’s a 50/50 split that’s absolutely accurate,” he said.

The expert also explained that coronavirus infection in 20% of cases is severe and requires hospitalization, and in 5% - intensive care. “In 20% of [cases], unfortunately, the [coronavirus] infection is severe and requires hospitalization in a hospital, and in 5% of cases, intensive care,” he said.

Gorelov explained that such statistics characterize cases when a person encounters a “wild” virus. When vaccinated against coronavirus, a person does not receive a live virus, therefore, according to him, it is not possible to get sick after vaccination. “The infectious process is artificially simulated, which follows a clearly directed path. In the vaccine, the virus is weakened so much that it arouses the immune system’s interest in itself, antibodies are produced, and there may even be an increase in temperature,” he explained.

How to strengthen your immune system

What does the state of immunity depend on? As you know, 70% of immune cells are located in the intestines. Thus, the state of immunity depends primarily on the integrity and normal functioning of the intestinal biofilm and all mucous membranes of the human body. [1]

Biofilm can be created by taking probiotics - preparations containing bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. An organism with a complete biofilm independently copes with diseases and prevents complications after vaccinations.

To create a biofilm and effectively correct microflora, the drug “Bifidum BAG” is used. It completely restores the intestinal biofilm. The content of bifidobacteria in this preparation is very high - 1012 beneficial bacteria are found in 1 ml. "Bifidum BAG" can be used in the first days of life.

Features of the course in children

The fewest cases of coronavirus have been recorded in children. These are isolated cases and they are usually associated with very low immunity or the presence of chronic diseases in the child. Most often, the signs of the virus are very similar to the symptoms of ARVI or are completely absent. The main treatment is to eliminate the symptoms of the disease (cough, runny nose, fever) or generally strengthen the child’s immunity. Coronavirus poses the greatest danger to infants, whose bodies are not yet strong and susceptible to any infection. As a rule, children are asymptomatic carriers of the infection and do not feel changes in the body even if they have the disease.

How to prepare for vaccination

• Children's vaccinations should be carried out individually, taking into account the health status of the individual child.
• A few days before vaccination, it is necessary to do a general blood and urine test to ensure that the baby is in normal health.
• If a child has a predisposition to allergies, then you should discuss with your doctor in advance a plan for preventing exacerbation of an allergic reaction to vaccination.
• Before vaccination, you should not add new types of food to your child’s menu - this may lead to unexpected reactions.
• To prevent complications from vaccinations, it is necessary to give children a complex of probiotics (Bifidum BAG, Trilact, Ecoflor) 2-5 days before vaccination and 3-14 days after vaccination. The duration of treatment depends on the risk group to which the baby belongs (healthy, allergic, frequently ill child, etc.). "Bifidum BAG" can be given to a child from birth, "Trilact" - from 1 year, "Ecoflor" - from 3 years.
• Before the vaccination itself, the doctor must make sure that the child does not have a fever at the time of vaccination.
• After vaccination, the child should sit for 30-40 minutes in the clinic. This will allow you to provide quick help in case of an allergic reaction.
• If a child has a fever on the first night after vaccination, it is necessary to give the child an antipyretic drug and be under the supervision of a doctor in the next 24 hours.

Scientists have proven: the stronger the immunity of the person being vaccinated, the higher the effectiveness of the vaccination and the less likely there are complications after it. A biofilm created using a biocomplex (“Bifidum BAG”, “Trilact”, “Ecoflor”) will provide a high level of body resistance, activating its protective properties.

[1]
What is biofilm?
Biofilm is a layer of beneficial bacteria closely associated with each other. The biofilm is attached to the epithelial villi, epithelial cells that provide the integrity, structure and function of the mucous membranes. It is a solid foundation for the formation of immune, hematopoietic, protective, absorption, vitamin-forming, enzymatic and hormonal functions, and actively suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Difficulties in determining the period of infectiousness

In order to determine the period during which a person releases coronavirus into the environment, it is necessary to know when he became infected. The main difficulty in determining the period of contagiousness is that, according to doctors, most patients experience COVID-19 in a mild or asymptomatic form. Subsequently, after they contact doctors, it is very difficult to completely restore the clinical picture and course of the disease.

Infectious disease experts claim that when diagnosing coronavirus using the PCR method, no viable virus is detected already 7 days after the onset of the disease. This was previously the basis for the assertion that the maximum infectiousness of a patient is three days. The main danger is that a person spreads viruses to the maximum two days before signs of illness appear and on the first day. That is, it is impossible to effectively counteract the spread of coronavirus if a person himself does not yet know that he is sick. Therefore, contact control and self-isolation are so important if it is known that a person has been in contact with someone infected with COVID-19.

Some countries are announcing that they are developing PCR test systems, with the help of which it will be possible to determine the duration of the virus carriage of a sick person. But the main problem is insufficient research on this type of coronavirus, in particular, its ability to mutate. Scientists still cannot say exactly how the COVID-19 strains will behave, how infectious they will be, and how they can be detected in the body after the patient has recovered. Many doctors suspect that with each round of mutation, the coronavirus strain becomes more infectious.

What makes the situation easier is that the resulting immunity will allow you to survive the disease to a mild degree, without severe life-threatening complications. However, studies show that due to the mutation, infectivity increased by almost 30%.

Calendar of preventive vaccinations for children under 7 years of age

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Features of the course in the elderly

Unfortunately, older people, whose immunity is usually weakened due to age, are most susceptible to various viral diseases, including coronavirus. In addition, older people are more likely to have chronic diseases, which can also negatively affect the process and severity of the disease when infected.

In older patients, as a rule, any disease occurs in a more severe form than in young people. In an elderly person, the mucous membrane of the nose and other parts of the respiratory system is often weakened, due to which the body is not able to fully cope with the protective function. As a result, the infectious agent enters the blood and affects other organs.

To minimize the risk of infection, doctors recommend taking precautions: maintaining hygiene, washing your hands more often, eating right and including vitamins in your diet.

Should I be vaccinated against the coronavirus itself if I have already had it?

This issue is also hotly debated. Of course, in response to coronavirus infection, our body produces antibodies—“fast” IgM and “slow” IgG—long-acting ones, and immunological cellular memory is also formed.

How long humoral immunity, assessed by IgG levels, lasts is currently being scientifically observed. Some researchers claim that “slow” antibodies provide protection for 3-4 months and no more. Others say immunity against COVID may last six months or more. For example, the general director of the State Scientific Center “Vector” R. A. Maksyutov suggests that immunity against coronavirus can be lifelong if the disease is very severe.

It is believed that a person cannot become infected again if his body has antibodies to the coronavirus disease. However, a large number of cases of re-infection are recorded in the coming days after the illness. A number of doctors associate such episodes with a weakened immune system and ordinary acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections, others argue that this is possible due to a sharp drop in the level of antibodies in the blood. Unfortunately, a blood test for antibodies is not always performed, and for many patients it is too expensive, and the sensitivity of a conventional test depends on many conditions and may not indicate the presence of infection. The third group of experts believes that several varieties of coronavirus can circulate in the population, and cross-immunity is not always formed.

Experts' opinions

For people who have recovered from coronavirus disease, as well as for those who have not applied but suspect that it has occurred, doctors recommend donating blood for antibodies before vaccination. Many suffered a mild infection without any symptoms. However, the antibodies will remain, and at their proper level, the person is protected and there is no point in getting vaccinated.

A decrease in the level of antibodies in those who have recovered from Covid is an indication for vaccination, says A. Chepurnov, a researcher at the Center for Fundamental Translational Medicine. The same opinion is shared by Professor Ignatiev, head of the department of general virology of the Federal Scientific Center named after. Chumakova.

Sergei Utesov, head of the laboratory of bionanotechnology, microbiology and virology at NSU, approaches this issue more carefully. In his opinion, the final answer can only be obtained after a certain time, subject to careful monitoring of those who were vaccinated and those who were ill, since the level of antibodies does not always correspond to the level of memory cells in the body.

And the deputy director for scientific work of the Research Institute of Epidemiology, A. Gorelov, according to media reports, claims that it is not worth focusing on antibodies at all. According to him, it is enough that a T-cell memory is formed in the body during illness - specific and lifelong.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that those who have recovered from COVID-19 be vaccinated against coronavirus in cases where the diagnosis was made more than six months ago.

What can be concluded? Regular vaccinations after suffering from coronavirus are not only possible, but also necessary. The selection of vaccination dates and schedules should be entrusted to a doctor experienced in vaccination. And with him make the decision about vaccination. Whether to get vaccinated against COVID-19 now or wait, whether or not to donate blood for antibodies, choose a drug if there is a choice of vaccines, assess your health status and the presence of contraindications - these are the questions that, having decided together with a doctor, you can count on the formation of good immunological protection against coronavirus infection. And, of course, do not neglect recommendations to reduce the risk of infection, including the use of personal protective equipment, and also do not forget to strengthen your immune system yourself in all available ways.