Better to get COVID while still in vaccine protection window?

[LeoniePeony]

I currently have COVID.
DH is fully vaccinated and received his second dose of AZ in June. As he is late 40s and won’t be receiving a booster, I am wondering whether it would be better for him to “get” covid now rather than risk being infected in the middle of winter when his antibodies may have further declined.
The theory is that a covid infection now could act like a booster in itself.

He’s so far managed to avoid it (negative LFTs & PCR) by sleeping in another room and keeping well away from me!

My main worry was that we couldn’t both afford to be unwell at the same time, but I seem to be over the worst now.

He doesn’t have underlying conditions.

So, DH should deliberately try to infect himself, AIBU?

I had puzzled about this too. Perhaps it would be a booster. I wondered if tgats why they decided to only do 1 shot with teens thinking theyd probably all get it for their second shot too.
I am interested in replies from people who know more

Following as I have just recovered from COVID and am too young to be on the booster list.

I consider it to be my 'booster'! I know with COVID (unlike e.g. measles) you don't get permanent immunity from natural infection. But it's still a boost to immunity and the consensus seems to be that it lasts at least six months.

I'm pleased to be virtually impenetrable to COVID now until the spring!

DD got it, then DH two days later. I made a deliberate decision not to isolate from them and we all slept in the same room. DH literally coughed on me! (Not deliberately.) I couldn't have isolated from DD anyway as she needed me. But I did genuinely want to catch it, while I still hopefully had plenty of vaccine protection.

I'm in a similar position vaccination wise, if someone in my family got it I wouldn't be staying away from them.

This is the way I look at it, speaking as someone who has seen a loved one, young, without underlying conditions, take very ill with covid.

Avoid infection if you can. If you/they get it, ok, but don’t run head first towards it take the precautions available. You do not know how you will react to the virus until infected. We know very little about it, it isn’t a cold, it isn’t flu for one thing it carries a superantigen (can provoke immune system malfunction). A high viral load is not a good starting point. We don’t know about long term effects or reinfection rates.

Getting covid to protect yourself from covid doesn’t make sense to me personally. If it was in my household I would try to protect the rest of the family. The longer we take to contract it the more treatments, medication and understanding there is. I don’t mean to alarm you, I’ve seen how nasty it can be.

I am assuming (hoping) that boosters will be offered to the under 50s in group 10 once they've got through the rest, who are higher priority. Group 10 don't need boosters yet as still within 6 months of the 2nd jab. Would be reassuring to be told that, of course. I don't like the idea of almost 50, not quite fat or ill enough for group 6 DH getting Covid in Jan/Feb when his immunity is waning.

I didn’t avoid anyone when they were positive

Ds gave me a cuddle and happened to cough in my direction

Not deliberately really just not avoiding anything

But agree that avoiding Covid would be better and we are still being sensible and taking precautions, though DS could bring it home at any time from the school plague pit.

This is the exact position I'm in atm - started a thread about it.

Double jabbed, extremely careful as were shielding someone last year. Still caught it a few weeks ago despite being less than 6 months post vaccination.

I was very poorly for a couple of days but thankfully no treatment needed. Kids were fine in the end.

Now I'm actually really glad we've got it over with as I'm hoping its boosted our immunity for a few months at least.

Sorry to hear of your experience @Lelivre, I hope your loved one has recovered or is recovering. You don’t mention whether they’d previously had the vaccine?

Getting covid to protect yourself from covid doesn’t make sense to me personally
I know it’s a bit paradoxical. But if it is inevitable that we will all get covid at some point, is it preferable to try and control that somewhat, so that you’re infected at a time when you still have active immunity from the vaccine? Especially for the under 50s.

I don't like the idea of almost 50, not quite fat or ill enough for group 6 DH getting Covid in Jan/Feb when his immunity is waning
No, me neither.

Does it also act as a booster if your household get it but you don’t ?

I wonder this too. But I've decided to try and keep avoiding it as any illness means chaos in the the house. I'm going to ask my GP for a booster in the new year as I just can't look after my DD, or keep her safe, if I get ill .

Hmm, interesting thought.

I'm in the nearly 50 (next summer), 2nd dose in June and not eligible for a booster group.

I'm also in the ONS survey and now doing bloods for antibodies.
These were positive in July & August, we missed September and then negative in October - which really surprised me.

The problem is that no one knows how they’re going to react to covid. I know many people who’ve had covid (London based) and no two people had it the same. Some have been very ill and hospitalised and others have had various symptoms including severe headaches and body aches or just very mild with a slight cold or a loss of smell for a couple of days.
There is lots of advice to take vitamin d, eat healthily, do some exercise, get enough sleep and reduce stress. There’s a lot to be said for underlying good health.

Haven’t had much joy finding any information about this online
This doesn’t directly answer the question but is relevant

www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02532-4

The problem is that no one knows how they’re going to react to covid
Granted it seems like a bit of a risk, but then so does being a 48 year old man in the middle of winter with waning immunity (particularly someone who can’t WFH etc…) But as I said, it does appear to be somewhat inevitable that if you haven’t had it yet , you will get it over the next year or so.

DS recently had covid. He semi-isolated (no hugs, stayed mostly in room etc) but we weren't obsessive (he moved around house without mask, we didn't sanitise, he ate meals with us). Neither DH or I caught it (double vaxed) BUT a couple of days after DS got his positive, I had a 2-3 days of mild headaches, and DH had painful joints - both out of the ordinary for us. So I wonder if that was us getting and fighting the infection with our existing antibodies? If so, that us well and truly boosted!

Interesting question - but having had it over half term and being very ill - nearly hospitalised I would do everything possible to avoid getting it. Being mid 40s I doubt I will be eligible for a booster any time soon.

I have wondered too (and even started a thread about it some time ago!) but ultimately I'd rather not get it - I don't think it's inevitable everyone will get it this winter. Most people don't get flu every year either even when they've not had a flu jab.

And you just don't know how it will affect each individual. I know some people who had hardly any symptoms, and others who've had a range of long term symptoms from one who lost her taste and smell for months, and others with more "classic" long covid symptoms like fatigue, as well as two people with permanent organ damage. They are all between 35-65 but no one has any pre-existing conditions that would have put them in the shielding groups.

Agree it’s an interesting question. I’ve just had covid - had my 2nd (Pfizer) jab at the end of July - I’m 39. I had a sinusy headache for one day. Dh had AZ, 2nd jab also in July - 44 and a bit grotty but nothing dreadful. I wonder if we’d have been more poorly if we’d caught it further into winter.

A study has just come out showing that 16% of the population are likely to carry a gene that makes them sicker when they get covid, 60% if you are of south Asian descent. If both parents had covid mildly then it might be safe for a child to risk infection but otherwise you cant know your genetic risk.

As time goes by new treatments are developed, so delaying geting covid means more chance of recovery. The old get boosters because T cells dont work so well, immunity probably wanes more slowly in the young. Your husband will be exposed to small amounts of virus anyway, cant avoid that when you are sharing a house in winter. Hopefully a small amount will remind his body how it needs to react and boost his immunity without him needing to actually be infected.

I'm in contact with several cases per week in my classroom. I would actively prefer to have it now than at the height of flu season. Before the 'do you generally suffer with health anxiety' lot come along piss off I'm not at the peak of health, so yes, it could potentially affect me badly and I'd rather take that risk now what when the hospitals are full to busting.

I doubt I’ll get a booster if and when the first round wanes

So now I’ve been exposed to Covid I reckon I’ve done what I can now for highest immunity

It doesn't make sense to get an illness now to protect you from getting an illness later - the fact we are discussing this is evidence our government has completely failed. The booster campaign has been a mess - the government squandered the advantages of the early vaccine success.

We have vaccines FFS. We shouldn't be needing to catch bloody covid.

@alreadytaken could you possibly link to that study please ? I'd be interested if this could help me understand why I got quite a moderate dose of Covid first time (not quite, but almost hospitalised) and long covid over a year, and others seem to shake it off with little issue. I was made to think like it was my fault. I'm mid 30s jo underlying conditions etc.

I've just had it again recently and in some ways I felt like you do, OP. I knew it was somewhat inevitable I would catch it due to DC in school and the lack of mitigations to prevent infection (arguably, the opposite). I knew that with AZ vax in June my immunity would be waning so perhaps natural infection has given me a boost.

What it's also done is given us 14 days of isolation between us; all now with significant fatigue (almost a month later) and knock on effects on other areas of our lives. So no, I wouldn't encourage infection and would do my best to avoid it. It's just a slight consolation if you do catch it that you (hopefully) can't get it again for a few months.

I’m too young to get the booster atm and for a few years