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Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 29, 2021 (SKNIS): Health authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis have advised that persons who have recovered from COVID-19 should get the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at any time. They say that the science indicates that a person has built-up immunity against COVID-19 up to 90 days after recovery, but it is strongly recommended that the individual still vaccinate as the natural defense diminishes over time.

At the July 28, 2021 Briefing by the National Emergency Operations Centre, Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N. France General Hospital, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, responded to a question from an individual who indicated that he/she contracted COVID-19 after receiving a jab. The person queried when he/she will be eligible to receive a second dose.

“You can have your second dose any time after you have recovered. So, to that person, you can have it tomorrow, you can have it the day after,” he stated.

The Medical Chief of Staff noted that the advice might be different in some countries if there is a high demand for and low supply of life-saving vaccines.

“In those countries, they allow them to wait while other persons who have no immunity at all step forward to get vaccinated. But here in St. Kitts and Nevis, where we don’t have a long line of persons waiting to be vaccinated, you can go forward and get vaccinated,” Dr. Wilkinson expressed.

Figures from the Ministry of Health indicate that as of Wednesday, July 28, 2021, a total of 33,424 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered in St. Kitts, while 9,990 were administered in Nevis.