Do i have to have vaccine if ive had Covid-19?

[TheoriginalLEM]

Recovering from covid - fucking grim.

Do we still need to be vaccinated? Don't get me wrong im not anti-vax, but surely ill have immunity now? At least at some level. DP , DD and myself were really quite unwell and have struggled so would have thought a fairly high viral load.

I dont want to have the vaccine if not necessary and more importantly dont want to take a vaccine from someone else when i already have immunity.

Can any medics shine any light on this?

There is still a lot we don't know. I'd suggest that the best thing to do is to take the vaccine when offered.

I will be having it even though I had it in December. Loads on here seem to be getting it again so I don't think immunity lasts.

I really don't want covid again.

If you are offered the vaccine, take it.

There are too many unknowns about the level of protection offered by having had the illness.

It is really unhelpful to view a queuing and prioritization process as "taking a vaccine" from someone. That is not what is happening, and society is not going to benefit from lots of people we need to be protected failing to take up their protection (and therefore continuing the problems the pandemic is causing).

Yes, you still need the vaccine.
You don’t know that you are immune and you don’t know how long immunity lasts for.

I've read that they (scientists?) hope vaccination immunity lasts longer than getting the illness immunity.

The immunity triggered by the vaccine will be much stronger than immunity triggered by actually having covid. It seems that natural immunity to covid from being infected is sometimes short lived, only lasting a few months. Asymptomatic cases don't generate any immunity. I'd have the vaccine when it's offered.

@wonderstuff is there any published research behind asymptomatic cases not generating any immunity? I ask because my son was asymptomatic and I’ve been feeling somewhat relieved he might have immunity for a while as he has an underlying condition.

Ok that makes sense. I would have bet my house i had covid in march but tested antibody negative in December, then got covid and have never been so ill. I'll get the vaccine i never want to go through that again.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.imperial.ac.uk/news/211653/covid-19-immunity-lasts-over-months-antibody/amp/

Actually more recent research shows some immune response, I'm not a medic, but I think the research has shown antibodies disappear quite quickly in asymptomatic patients, but T-cell immunity persists longer. I had a quick Google and it looks like lots of studies focus on mild or asymptomatic, fewer focus on just asymptomatic cases. It seems like more severe illness = more antibodies.

I'm not convinced anyone is entirely sure, but the vaccine is certainly a more reliable source of immunity than having had mild covid.

My wife is a frpntline nurse, she has had covid and she has had her first dose of the vaccine

@Bookriddle you have probably heard this before but your wife is a hero. You must be so very proud. Stay safe x

@TheoriginalLEM she always been my hero, even before the pandemic, they was still understaffed and over worked, but its extreme now, she is physically and emotionally drained all the time, she working alot more now because they are so short! Pre pandemic ICU was 1 to 1 care, now they are running 1 to 3, if she is lucky its 1 to 2, just having 2 patients on ventilators is extremely dangerous!

But yet some people still think hospitals are empty, between the 2 hospitals that are under 1 trust, they have 480 covid patients, people are dying waiting for ventilators, before they had 9 beds in ICU, they now have 17 patients on ventilators!

Frontline nhs here. Had covid 2 weeks ago. Been advised to wait 4 weeks after covid test positive then get vaccine. Which I will certainly be doing

I've just had it for the second time (March and Dec). I am looking forward to getting vaccinated this summer.

It’s a novel pandemic so the answer to your question hasn’t been studied and tested before. The research is likely to be in development but until then, it’s better to be safe and take the vaccine