Coronavirus: Do People Who Recovered Need Vaccine?

Since the news of developing vaccines against the novel coronavirus began, many questions have raised, especially with the British government's decision, on Wednesday, to license the "Pfizer-Biontech" vaccine.

Will people recovering from COVID-19 get the vaccine?

Will people recovering from coronavirus be naturally immune to disease after building up antibodies?

As for the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine, the UK did not clarify whether those recovering from the virus should get it, as logic says that their immune systems have fought the virus, and this means that they do not need to be vaccinated, according to a report by Sky News Arabia published on Saturday.

A study conducted by researchers at the US "Rockefeller" University, concluded that those recovering from the novel coronavirus develop a quick and more effective immunity, in case they encounter the disease again.

However, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Health told the Huffington Post website, that the ministry encourages people who have recovered from the epidemic to receive the vaccine.

The vaccine trials focus on people who have not been exposed to the virus before, so it is not yet known how a person recovering from an epidemic can interact with it.

The experts do not seem to be concerned about the matter, as Sarah Fortune, head of the Immunology and Infectious Diseases Department at the Harvard School of Public Health, says that "there is no evidence that the vaccine is not safe for people recovering from coronavirus."

However, she stresses that more research is needed.

Britain is scheduled to start, on Tuesday, a campaign to vaccinate its people with the "Pfizer-Biontech" vaccine, however, the majority of healthy people will not receive the vaccine until next year, as the priority will be for medical workers, the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

Last week, the British government agreed to grant the vaccine to people over the age of 16, while children and pregnant women were temporarily prevented from receiving it.

The vaccine will be given in two doses, separated by 21 days.