Coronavirus vaccination: Should you get vaccinated when you are sick or suspect coronavirus symptoms?

Vaccination drives have been ramped up across the country, and many are now registering themselves to get vaccinated for the first, or the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. While there remains a lot of dos and don'ts to follow before turning up for your vaccination appointment, what happens if you get sick on the scheduled date?

Getting your COVID-19 vaccine? Know what to expect, preventive measures to take

Should you still get vaccinated if you get sick or develop cold-like symptoms? We settle your doubts

Falling sick with any sort of illness could mean that you may be under the weather, and currently recuperating.

When one developss an upper respiratory tract infection, or a viral illness may also take a while to get better. At a time like this, it can also be utterly confusing to differentiate the symptoms from that of a suspected COVID-19 infection.

READ ALSO: Is it COVID-19 or the allergies? Here's how to tell the difference

While illnesses don't directly impair or hamper the body's immunity, recovering from any sort of illness, be it mild or moderate or severe could however mean that the immune system is already busy doing its job, which may make you wonder if it may be the right time to get vaccinated, or a bout of illness may reduce the efficacy rates of the vaccine.

Current guidelines in place by the Health Ministry, as well as global health bodies, do not currently suggest that minor illnesses, such as a cold, headache disqualifies someone from getting vaccinated. That being said, experts and infectious disease experts do suggest that in the case of moderate-severe illnesses, such as a viral infection or gastrointestinal tract infection, it's better if a person waits.

That being said, suffering from respiratory symptoms like cough, a fever could be doubly dangerous right now, since they are possible COVID symptoms as well. This is the only reason why some are being turned away from vaccination centres right now, because of the risk of infection spread.

While there is no credible proof to suggest that vaccines may not work for a person who is sick, it should be known that during any illness, the immune system is fighting hard to root out pathogens. Recovery from the sickness may also leave the body weak and tired for a couple of days, so getting the vaccine, and coping with the side effects may not be the wisest idea. However, in no way does any existing, or future illness interfere with the vaccine's efficacy or effectiveness. What the sickness determines is how well your body reacts to the vaccine at that particular moment.

Dealing with COVID-19 vaccine symptoms may also be a little difficult to cope with, especially if you are someone who is sensitive to pain, more prone to falling sick or have a weakened immune system.

What may be concerning enough to remember is that getting sick may weaken or tire your immune system already, and getting vaccinated at that time, may make you vulnerable to developing higher severity of symptoms.

ALSO READ: Why do some people get side-effects, while some don't feel any from coronavirus vaccines?

So, if you have a minor illness, it wouldn't be so harmful to get vaccinated. However, dealing with severe infections, or going through symptoms that may be similar in nature to COVID may make it troublesome.

Suffering from severe allergies, however, should make one postpone vaccination since it has been tied to serious COVID-19 vaccine side-effects and allergic reactions as well.

Cold, cough or just a chronic headache could be indicators of COVID since the infection carries a lot of symptoms similar in nature to respiratory illnesses. In such a case, if a person suspects COVID-19 around the time for vaccination, the best would be to wait for a while, get tested and then decide on the next course of action.

Not only would having coronavirus symptoms at the time of infection make it perilous for other people at the centre, but it could also mean that the vaccine may work less effectively.

In a similar way, those who may have been in contact with people who had coronavirus, have been self-isolating or waiting for COVID test results are advised to wait as well.

As for the ones who have had COVID, or have recently recovered, guidelines recommend waiting for 3-4 months and let the natural immunity wane, before getting the vaccine jab.