The uptick in COVID-19 cases across the country has everyone experiencing the unfortunate reality that you can still get infected with the coronavirus, especially the rapidly spreading omicron variant, despite being fully vaccinated.
This also has people who have experienced a breakthrough infection wondering how long to wait to get a COVID-19 booster shot after being fully vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that fully vaccinated individuals who are not boosted but test positive for COVID-19 get their booster shot “after recovering from a breakthrough infection, no longer show symptoms and meet the criteria for discontinuing isolation,” Dr. Sandra Adams, a professor of biology and virologist at Montclair State University, told NJ Advance Media.
For fully vaccinated people who test positive and are asymptomatic, Adams says you “should still wait until the quarantine period has ended to get the booster.”
Scientists, health experts and agencies such as the CDC agree that boosters “provide greater protection” against omicron despite it being a highly transmissible variant.
Unvaccinated individuals who test positive for COVID-19 also should wait to get their first vaccine dose until they recover.
The recovery period, however, can vary from person to person. For example, an asymptomatic case of COVID-19 can get vaccinated as soon as his or her isolation period is over, according to Houston Methodist Medical Center.
But medical experts say those who receive monoclonal antibody treatments will have to wait at least 90 days before getting their first shot.
“People who received either of these antibody treatments will need to wait about three months before getting vaccinated,” says Dr. Robert Phillips, executive vice president and chief executive physician at Houston Methodist Medical Center. “The reason for this is that the antibodies in these treatments might hinder you from developing a complete immune response towards the vaccine.”
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