ST. LOUIS — The Verify team is fielding your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.
We're committed to getting you answers from the experts.
Let's verify.
Our source:
Dr. Alex Lacasse, an infectious disease doctor at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital. Lacasse has treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients in the St. Louis metro area.
Viewer Question #1:
Is it true that the vaccine won't cause a sufficient antibody response in people who are immunosuppressed?
Answer #1:
Lacasse says it is possible immunosuppressant medication could effect your body’s antibody response to the vaccine. He added that people on immunosuppressants were not included in the vaccine trials. Lacasse says early clinical vaccine trials were only meant to test the vaccine in the biggest possible population.
Viewer Question #2:
If you've had the original strain of COVID-19, can you still contract the new South African variant of COVID-19?
Answer #2:
Dr. Lacasse says probably not. He says being infected with the original strain should create the production of antibodies that would fight the new variant. However, if a new variant with a different 3-D structure appears, the vaccine may not protect people.
Viewer Question #3:
Does the vaccine prevent you from contracting COVID-19 or just prevent you from getting symptoms?
Answer #3:
Dr. Lacasse says the virus will protect you from suffering from COVID-19 symptoms but the virus can still enter your body. “Even if you’re vaccinated, you can still harbor the virus in your nose. So if you talk loud, sneeze, you can still transmit it to somebody else,” he said.
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