France's Haute Autorité de Santé has recommended that people who have previously been infected with the novel coronavirus should only get one shot of vaccine.
Clever tactic or preemptive tacañeria?
I guess a bit of both. But the cleverness would have to be nuanced by ensuring that the decisions are taken on a patient-by-patient basis.
It is known that many covid patients who are subsequently vaccinated experience heightened immediate side effects or at least a short-lived sensation of being severely under the weather.
This is because they already possess an immune response to the virus and the vaccine in effect boosts this to the point that it is sensible.
Yet the data on this appears to vary by age and sex. Some men and older people in general do not experience this booster effect, and so it seems to me that these individuals should still get both shots.
Are we to distinguish in any way between those who have been infected asymptomatically and those who have suffered mild or even severe symptoms?
And what of people that have had covid twice? I know one here in Antigua. He was most likely infected on both occasions by a health worker residing in his home. Are we to presume he now has a comparatively strong immune defence or a comparatively weak one?
In my view, health workers should always get the double dose.
The apparently growing presence of mutations in the mix should also inform policy. If AZ and the like adapt their vaccines and release new versions in the autumn, would one dose of these be the equivalent of a second dose of the older version?
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