Should I Get A Third Shot? Dr. Mallika Marshall Answers Your COVID Vaccine Questions
BOSTON (CBS) — Dr. Mallika Marshall is answering your coronavirus vaccine-related medical questions. If you have a question, email her or message her on Facebook or Twitter.
Dr. Mallika is offering her best advice, but as always, consult your personal doctor before making any decisions about your personal health.
Dan writes on Facebook, "I had an employee who got a second shot. The next day he was back at work and I was a little concerned about him because he had chills and fever. Would he be contagious to other employees around him? Can a person get COVID through the vaccination program?"
You cannot get the coronavirus from any of the vaccines currently available in the United States. And they are not live viruses. Chills, body aches, and fever are expected side effects from the vaccine and indicates that the body is mounting an immune response. Those symptoms only last a day or two. I hope he's feeling better now.
Rachel on Facebook asks, "If I have asthma am I 'auto-immune'? Do I need a third dose?"
Asthma is not an autoimmune disorder. If you received your two doses of Moderna you should be well protected against COVID-19 for now. You may need a booster dose at some point but not yet.
Don has a similar question. He writes, "I am just wondering, would it be safe and/or result in enhanced immunity for someone, who has already received his/her second Pfizer dose, to go and get a third shot of it a few weeks later?"
It is not necessary to get an additional vaccine dose at this time. You should still be well protected from symptomatic COVID-19. There may be a time when a booster dose will be recommended, but that may be a different formulation than that currently available to enhance immunity against some of the variants. Stay tuned.
And Margie writes, "My husband is a saxophone teacher and will be teaching indoors. He is fully vaccinated and cannot wear a mask while teaching this instrument. Can he teach an unvaccinated student? They may be 6 feet apart"
If your husband isn't immunocompromised and there is no reason to suspect that he did not get a good immune response from the vaccine, he should be well protected against severe COVID-19. Therefore it is unlikely that your husband will get very sick if exposed to an unvaccinated student who has the coronavirus. To be on the safe side, he could try to conduct his lessons outdoors on nice days. And I'm not sure how old his students are but hopefully, one day soon, most of them will also be vaccinated. Please consult your husband's doctor for further advice.
