Vaccines

[carrie]

When I was young I noticed a round mark on my Mum's arm. Around two centimeters in diameter. I asked her what it was and she said it was the mark left by the vaccine she had as a baby. All my aunts and uncle had the same mark.
I suppose I was vaccinated as a baby but no sign of that, later in Senior school all the kids were tested for TB, I was then given the vaccine which made a sore on my arm and when healed left a small scar.
Later still I think, I received the Polio vaccine on a lump of sugar.
My children were vaccinated against all the usual childhood illnesses measles etc.
I was told that the vaccines consisted of a very small live amount of the disease which caused your body to produce anti bodies that would be ready to fight the disease if encountered.
These would show up in blood tests in future.
Now I have no idea how the Covid vaccine works but if it is the same then when tested it will show up.
Are you tested for Covid before you get the vaccine to see if you have had it, as I understand it in some people it is very mild and just a case of having a dose of the flu so an individual wouldn't know that he/she had been infected.

[FABlux]

They weren't testing before vaccination here (France). Recently they started testing at the time of the first vaccination. The reason for the change is if you have had it you then only need 1 vaccination.

[HEPZIBAH]

Quote Carrie: 'Are you tested for Covid before you get the vaccine to see if you have had it, as I understand it in some people it is very mild and just a case of having a dose of the flu so an individual wouldn't know that he/she had been infected.'

As far as I'm aware there has been no testing, for the general public at least, in the UK pre having the vaccine. I think the logistics of doing that would have messed up the roll out of the actual vaccine. Once vaccines became available, the priority was to get them given to the priority groups as quickly as possible, and that was a bit hit and miss at times. If everyone had had to have tests before vaccination, I doubt there would have been location and volunteer capacity to deal with it.

I think it may be the case (but I don't know this for certain) that if you had already tested positive for Covid it would be recorded and therefore the medical professionals would know what dose to give you. If you haven't previously tested for Covid - and officially recorded testing - then you would need the recommended double dose.

Of course, we don't yet know what the situation will be regarding boosters. Time will tell.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Nobody is being 'tested' here in Canada before getting the vaccines. You register for the first vaccine, get it and then at 8 weeks you're notified of a date for the second vaccine to be administered. If AstraZeneca was used first you can get a second AstraZeneca or Pfizer or Moderna. If your first was Pfizer or Moderna you can get a second of either of those two.