Should I get the third dose if I have antibodies?

Over 5 million Poles have already been vaccinated with a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s about 20 percent. the number of people who took the primary vaccination course. E-referrals for subsequent groups appear in the system regularly, but a large proportion of patients who receive them hesitate whether to sign up for vaccination right away. Reason? The performed tests confirm the high level of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We asked the Ministry of Health about whether these patients should wait before receiving the booster.

1. So far, more than 5 million Poles have received the booster
2. Many people who receive e-referral for a third dose consider postponing the vaccination
3. The reason is the high level of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which is shown by private research
4. We asked the Ministry of Health if this was appropriate
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

COVID-19: Why Do an Antibody Test?

Testing for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies is not mandatory, but many people do. Why? Some people want to check their level after receiving the vaccines, usually several months after the second dose. Some of them perform such tests on a regular basis to monitor the concentration of antibodies and on this basis determine – purely hypothetically – how much they are at risk of coronavirus infection and / or the severity of COVID-19.

Another group of people who study covid antibodies are convalescents who have recently become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most of them are patients who have not performed an antigen test for the presence of the coronavirus, but have experienced symptoms characteristic of the infection and / or have had contact with a person suffering from COVID-19 and suspect that they have passed the infection asymptomatically. They treat the testing of antibodies as a confirmation of the COVID-19 transition.

1. Also Read: How Many Cases of COVID-19 Are Symptomatic?

Is such a procedure justified? Is the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test result reliable data on the basis of which a decision should be made to postpone the third dose of the vaccine?

The rest of the material for the video.

MZ: “Not every person develops antibodies after coronavirus infection”

As the Ministry of Health explains, the key information is that not everyone develops antibodies after being infected with coronavirus.

– Antibodies to the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus appear about 7-10 days after the onset of clinical symptoms of COVID-19, and their level depends on the efficiency of the patient’s immune system and the course of the disease. People with severe symptoms tend to have higher levels of these antibodies than those who have had the infection asymptomatically. Thus not every person develops antibodies after infection. There is also no precise data on how long the antibodies last after an outbreak, or what levels of antibodies would protect against re-infection.

Check your body’s antibody levels with the COVID-19 SGTi-flex Cassette Test available from Medonet Market.

1. Have you recently had COVID-19? Important information about the Omicron

High levels of antibodies and the third dose – to get vaccinated or not?

But what if we do the test and the result clearly shows that we have antibodies? Here, the ministry recommends caution when referring to international recommendations.

– The sensitivity and specificity [of these tests – ed. ed.] is much lower compared to the PCR test, therefore, serological tests aimed at detecting antibodies are not used in the diagnosis of infections. Also, none of the international health institutions (WHO, ECDC) currently recommends that people be considered convalescent based on the results of antibody testing. Serological testing to assess response to vaccination before a booster dose or a booster dose is not recommended – specifies the ministry.

In practice, this means that people who have had an illness caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be vaccinated against COVID-19 30 days after obtaining a positive test for the presence of coronavirus. According to the available recommendations, this term also applies to those patients who developed COVID-19 after receiving the first dose. The second dose in their case may be administered not earlier than one month after confirmation of infection. Importantly, this rule applies to both adults and children.

1. Also read: Vaccinating children against COVID-19. The most important questions and answers for parents

The editorial board recommends:

1. Omicron “goes crazy in the world”. What about Christmas? Experts tell you what to do
2. Expert: If Omikron escapes the vaccines, it will be a B pandemic
3. Omicron is also a threat to children. Expert alerts: if your child has these symptoms, get a COVID-19 test
4. The fifth wave of the epidemic in Israel. “Vaccinate your children for Omikron is coming”

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