Getting Answers: Who should get the coronavirus vaccine? – WKOW

MADISON (WKOW) -- As Wisconsin's coronavirus vaccine rollout continues expanding, UW Health's Dr. Jeff Pothof is still confident vaccines are the best defense for the community right now.

"The gamble right now is with natural COVID, not with getting the vaccine," he told 27 News. "I'd recommend anyone who can get the vaccine to go ahead and get it."

27 News has received many questions from the community about the vaccine, including whether someone who has recovered from COVID-19 and given antibodies for treatment should still get it.

Dr. Pothof says yes, after waiting for recovery.

"We do have some variants around that do appear to be able to defeat natural immunity. So, if you lived in Brazil and you had natural COVID, it does look like that new Brazilian variant defeats your natural immunity. You can get sick again," he said. "The vaccines are more likely to be protective against those variants than your natural immunity. So, I think initially there was some question of whether that was needed or necessary. I think at this point, there'd be very few public health experts who would say natural immunity is good enough. It looks like vaccine-induced immunity is quite a bit better."

Those variants could mean we will need a booster shot in the future, but Dr. Pothof says it's too soon to know whether we'll need annual doses, like the flu shot.

Others have asked if they shouldn't get the vaccine when taking certain medications. Doctors have said you should not take ibuprofen before getting the shot, but you can take it afterwards to ease some aches and pains. Drugs that suppress immune activity, like steroids or allergy medications should be safe, according to Dr. Pothof.

"I'm not sure that there's a medication that would interact with the vaccine to such a degree that we would suggest not getting the vaccine," he said.

Still, there is hesitancy in the community over the vaccine with some saying they don't want to get it and wondering what their risk of getting COVID-19 will be if they go unvaccinated.

Millions around the world have died after getting COVID-19, so Dr. Pothof says the vaccine is far safer than taking the risk of getting infected.

"People who get the vaccine, their chance of getting so sick that they need a hospital is really low, almost zero, whereby the same does not hold true for natural COVID infection," he said. "For me right now, this late into the game, there's almost no argument that would suggest that taking your chances with natural COVID is the right thing to do."

If you have a question about the vaccine, you can email gettinganswers@wkow.com.

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Getting Answers: Who should get the coronavirus vaccine? - WKOW