Updated COVID shots are becoming available in the U.S. amid what appears to be a surge in cases — leaving some to wonder whether they need an updated shot if they recently recovered from an infection.
Official CDC guidanceopens in a new tab or window states that people who are currently infected should wait “at least until recovery from acute illness” before getting a shot.
But they also “may consider delaying” their updated shot by 3 months from symptom onset, or from a positive test if the infection was asymptomatic. Camille Kotton, MD, clinical director of transplant and immunocompromised host infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who was a panelist on CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), emphasized that during the ACIP meetingopens in a new tab or window on updated shots, it was noted that patients “can wait 3 months after an infection to get an updated vaccine.”