DOH: Covid-19 patients should wait 90 days before vaccination

MANILA, Philippines — People who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 should wait 90 days before getting vaccinated against the new coronavirus, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

In an online press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there is no need for a person to undergo Covid-19 testing before receiving the vaccine, and that the only recommendation of health experts is for Covid-19 positive patients to wait three months before being inoculated.

“According to our experts and according to WHO (World Health Organization) recommendation, we don’t need to have a test for those who are going to receive the vaccines. Ang kanilang tanging paalala of course if you have had the virus, you were detected, you have to wait 90 days before you can receive the vaccines,” Vergeire said.

(According to our experts and WHO, we don’t need to test those who will receive the vaccines. Their only reminder is if you have had the virus, you have to wait 90 days before you can receive the vaccines.)

According to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people appear to be susceptible to reinfection around 90 days after the onset of infection, based on data on other human coronaviruses.

CDC said the “reinfection appears to be uncommon during the initial 90 days after symptom onset of the preceding infection.”

The Philippines is eyeing the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines this month, with health workers coming from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, Lung Center of the Philippines and East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, and Dr. Jose Natalio Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (Tala Hospital) in Caloocan City as first recipients.