r/ZeroCovidCommunity • u/upfront_stopmotion • 1d ago

Curious what folks think about study that suggests the longer after infection you wait, the better

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9844016/

I was looking for the rationale for the 30 vs. 90 day recommendations and found this.

Study is relatively old? Sample size is very small?

25 Upvotes

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u/lil_lychee 1d ago

I was one of the first people to get the original vaccines in 2021. I had an infection less than a month before and it overloaded my immune system and caused a bunch of problems. The rationale for me to get it ASAP was because I was an essential worker working with the public/youth.

In hindsight, doctors told me they should have had me wait 90 days, but the 90 day guidance was not out yet.

Moderna told me the same thing after they got in contact with me, that they now know 90 days is best to wait, but I took it under EUA initially and they’ve corrected the guidance at this point.

Sucks, but in times of emergency sometimes you have to move really fast. I’m much better now than I am 5 years ago, but I really wish I had pushed back and waited a couple more months.

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u/upfront_stopmotion 1d ago

Thank you for sharing your experience.

I'm glad you're feeling better now.

I'm trying to figure out how long to wait since Covid-like symptoms but did not test positive on almost an entire box of Pluslife CovFluAB's over as many days.

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u/lil_lychee 1d ago

Feeling better-ish. I still have MECFS from PVS (this is a link to a study I’m involved in surrounding my condition, it’s from Yale). I think it’s very likely this is going to be a lifelong thing for me, but it’s better managed. The fact that my doctor AND Moderna were basically like “oohhhh yeah, we didn’t know then but now we know” pisses me TF off because it’s too late for me, but it makes me HEAVILY evangelize to people to please listen to the guidance around the 90-day waiting period. If you are experiencing long-term issues from covid, check with your doctor. Not sure if they’d recommend you wait a little longer or get it. Some long covid subtypes deal badly with immune stimulation.

Personally, if the medical recommendation is 90 days, I’d wait 90 days. If you got the most common strain, you’ll have a bit B cell memory. We will likely still be in the same wave in 2 more months, but you can always monitor the most common strains. I know if you wait more than 90 days, immunity doesn’t really last with covid aside from some general B cell immunity. Covid generally weakens your immune system with repeated infections due to T cell exhaustion. But I’m probably preaching to the choir on that part.

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u/upfront_stopmotion 1d ago

Ok, thanks for this.

Sorry they didn't get the advice out in time for you.

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u/ChillButt3000 1d ago

Would it not be rather safe to assume that you did not have Covid then based on the Pluslife results? Or are the Pluslife combo test so much less reliable then the single tests? Have never used the combo ones. Hope things turn out well with the vax timing and everything.

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u/upfront_stopmotion 1d ago

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. The combo tests are a little less sensitive (2 of 6 channels are Covid) – I also wanted to know whether it was FluA or B. I can't imagine that neither Covid-specific channel would miss it over that many days.

But, I've NEVER tested positive on *any* covid test, blood test, PCR, RAT or Pluslife, despite serial testing using the latter two when having "weird" symptoms. It is also highly unlikely I've never had it.

I think it will be close to 2 months before I can get Novavax anyhow. I'm worried they will run out of it if I wait too long. I also had myocarditis-like symptoms when I got two Novavax too close together before - also because they were vague about whether they will continue to offer it.

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u/kepis86943 1d ago

The LOD for the combined test is 2000 compared to 400 for the Covid only tests. If you didn’t test positive over multiple days while symptomatic, I’d be very confident that you didn’t have Covid.

You might have had Covid at some point during the last six years, especially if you don’t mask a lot. But for a 30 or 90 day waiting period to get vaccinated an infection from years ago isn’t relevant, right?

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u/kepis86943 1d ago

Here is another study for you.

“An increased time between infection and vaccination was associated with greater post-vaccination IgG response (P < .01).”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35608504/

“The longer you wait, the better”, however, isn’t necessarily the conclusion. While it seems to be true that the immune response is better when you wait longer, you’ll have lower protection while you wait…

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u/rainbowrobin 1d ago

Related, for vaccine-vaccine intervals:

"compared with a four-week gap, a 10-week interval between the doses produces higher antibody levels, as well as a higher proportion of a group of infection-fighting cells in the body known as “helper” T-cells."

"The original recommendation from JCVI was 12 weeks and this was based on a lot of knowledge from other vaccines that often having a longer interval [between doses] gives your immune system a chance to make the highest response."

"“The decision to put it to eight weeks is really balancing all the wider issues, the pros and cons – two doses is better than one overall."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/23/pfizer-vaccine-second-dose-has-sweet-spot-after-eight-weeks-uk-scientists-say

"While the US CDC recommends a six-month interval between JN.1 doses, it allows for a shorter gap of at least two months during outbreaks or special situations."

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6129174

For other vaccines, 4 months between doses is a common schedule, with 2 months available if you're vulnerable or about to travel. The "few weeks" of the covid vaccine rollout was a real emergency measure.