B.C. prepares for fall COVID vaccine campaign — should you get the shot?
Posted September 12, 2023 4:20 pm.
Last Updated September 12, 2023 4:30 pm.
With Health Canada approving an updated COVID-19 shot Tuesday, B.C. is gearing up for its fall vaccination campaign.
According to UBC infectious diseases expert Dr. Horacio Bach, six months is the number you should keep in mind.
If it’s been that length of time since your last shot or infection — he says it’s worth getting the updated vaccine when it becomes available for you.
“Winter is coming, so we have a tendency of course to be more indoors,” Dr. Bach told CityNews in an interview. “That is the fertile ground for the virus to multiply when you’re in a small room with a lack of ventilation. So it’s a great time to get it. It’s best for people who haven’t updated their vaccine doses because this is the latest that we have.”
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Dr. Bach says that’s especially true given the many questions about long COVID, which we don’t yet fully understand.
“That is nothing that we can predict,” Dr. Bach said when asked about how seriously we should take long COVID. “It depends on the person, even persons who are very healthy — even [active], young people, that are very healthy in general, they are sick [with long COVID] as well.
“Still we don’t know why…their system is let’s say inactivated by the virus.”
A recurring discussion online surrounds whether people who have already had three or four doses should be lining up for a shot once again — but Bach emphasizes protection wanes as time goes on, whether that’s from a previous infection or from a vaccine.
“If people are getting infected over and over with SARS-CoV-2 or having COVID-19, it means the immune system of these people may not be as strong,” Dr. Bach said. “We don’t expect that everyone will produce the best, potent antibodies that can take care of the virus. So, probably these people have to do the vaccination more often. It’s a point that we need to keep updating the immune system.”
Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry are expected to provide a detailed briefing on B.C.’s fall vaccine rollout within the next 10 days.
