Yes, individuals who receive a nonreplicating, inactivated or mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine can donate blood without a waiting period.
About 80 percent of trial participants reported it, followed by fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills, nausea and vomiting, and fever.
"Our natural antibody response will protect us against COVID for another few months. So I do think it makes sense to wait and get the updated booster about three months after our positive COVID test," she says.
Someone who has symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath, is not healthy enough to donate blood. Standard screening processes already in place will mean that someone with these symptoms will not be allowed to donate.
Like earlier coronavirus vaccines, the updated boosters will be free. The new boosters — the first changes since the mRNA vaccines were rolled out in December 2020 — target the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants dominant in the United States.
These symptoms do not mean you are sick. They signal that your immune system is responding to the shot and building up protection against the coronavirus.
Everyone should get the new COVID-19 booster, experts say, even if you have gotten previous vaccinations or come down with COVID-19 during the omicron wave in late 2021 and early 2022.
You do not need to wait to get vaccinated if you were treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma while sick with COVID-19.
People who have COVID-19 and are in isolation, should wait to get vaccinated until: Symptoms are gone (if you had symptoms) and Criteria to discontinue isolation have been met.
After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time after. You may continue to test positive on antigen tests for a few weeks after your initial positive. You may continue to test positive on NAATs for up to 90 days.
At this time, the FDA does not recommend using laboratory tests to screen blood. Someone who has symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath, is not healthy enough to donate blood.Standard screening processes already in place will mean that someone with these symptoms will not be allowed to donate.
"Antibodies can last in your blood for months, but we don't know how much you need to be protected", said Horovitz, who was not involved in the new study. People who had more severe COVID-19 disease do have higher antibody levels but that doesn't protect them forever, he noted.
If you do not regularly take ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen medications, it is recommended that you do not take these before you get a COVID-19 vaccination. It is not known how OTC medicines (such as ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen) might affect how well the vaccine works.
The Centers for Disease Control says that you can take over-the-counter pain medicine, such as ibuprofen (like Advil), aspirin, antihistamines or acetaminophen (like Tylenol), if you have side effects after getting vaccinated for Covid. As with any medication, the CDC recommends talking to your doctor first.
Because taking over-the-counter painkillers before getting vaccinated may reduce the responsiveness of your immune system and therefore weaken the effectiveness of the vaccine, the CDC does not recommend taking Tylenol or ibuprofen before getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
In the case of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the booster dose is the same as the original dose. For the Moderna vaccine, it is a half dose.