Will COVID-19 vaccines work if I have a weakened immune system?
Maybe they don’t do like healthy people but the shots provide some protection.
This is why vaccination is still recommended for people with weakened immune systems by disease or some ations. It is also important that your family, friends and carers get vaccinated, as it is less likely to get the virus.
About 3% of U.S. adults have a weakened immune system. These include people living with HIV or AIDS, transplant recipients, some cancer patients and people with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus.
COVID-19 shots have not been studied in large numbers of people with weakened immune systems. However, limited data and experience with flu and pneumonia vaccines suggest that they may not work as well as others. This means that people with weak immune systems should be careful about wearing masks and avoiding large crowds.
Dr. Ajit Lima, a transplant specialist at the University of Washington Medicine in Seattle, said, “It is wise to use all the precautions you used before vaccination.”
Although most cancer patients should be vaccinated as soon as possible, according to the guidelines of the National Extensive Cancer Network, people receiving stem cell transplants or CAR T-cell therapy should wait at least three months after treatment for treatment. This delay will ensure that vaccines are as effective as they can be.
For transplant recipients, researchers are looking to see if any additional doses of vaccines can make them more effective.
The French guidelines recommend a third dose of COVID-19 for immunocompressed people, including donors. Israel recently began giving additional doses of the phaser vaccine to patients and others with weakened immune systems. Some U.S. transplant recipients seek a third dose in the hope of further protection even though the federal government has not approved additional vaccinations.