MADISON (WKOW) -- According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, nearly 3 million vaccine doses have been administered, but there are, at times, still questions that have doctors stumped.
Like, what to do if you get COVID-19 between doses if you're doing a two dose series.
"I'm not even sure if we have a slam dunk guideline for that," Doctor Jeff Pothof with UW Health says that's because that situation hasn't been thoroughly studied yet.
The only certainty is that you need to get the second dose.
The Centers for Disease Control says there is no minimum amount of time between infection and vaccination, but that while supplies are low, you could choose to temporarily delay your dose.
Dr. Pothof says there is some evidence that you could wait up to 90 days.
"From the AstraZeneca [study], when the UK was looking at single dose regimen, if you delay that second dose, I think even out to 12 weeks, that pickup in immunity is still there when you get that second dose," he said.
At the very least, you should wait until you're no longer sick to get your second dose.
However, if you received antibody treatment while sick with COVID, the CDC recommends waiting 90 days for either your first or second dose.
Dr. Pothof says the most important thing to do is to avoid getting sick in the first place.
"I think after you get that first dose, sometimes you feel invincible [but] especially for the first two weeks after you get that first dose you really don't have any immunity at all," he said.
Dr. Pothof says while there's some evidence you're protected two weeks after just one dose, the studies weren't specifically testing for that, and further research is necessary.
So, he says, act like you're still in danger of infection until two weeks after your second dose, at which point you'll be considered fully vaccinated.
