​Bogotá, January 6, 2022. A recurring question these days with the administration of reinforcements has to do with people who are ready to receive the booster but have become infected.

In relation to this concern, Leonardo Arregocés, director of Medicines and Health Technologies of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, explained that if you have been instructed to receive the reinforcement but you got COVID-19, you must wait during a period of 30 days from the onset of symptoms or the date of diagnosis (in people who are asymptomatic) to receive the booster.

"The indication, according to the evidence and the recommendation of the Vaccine Advisory Committee, is that people should heed this counsel of the 30-day period," Arregocés noted.

Likewise, the director stressed the importance of going for the booster vaccination, with the aim of being better protected against the virus and thus reducing, among all, the risks of serious illness and death due to the virus.

The schedule

Arregocés took the opportunity to remind all of the schedule of when to get the additional dose, according to the population group.

"The Vaccine Advisory Committee recommended that the booster for people aged 50+ be administered four months after completing the initial schedule," he explained.

On the other hand, for people 18-49 years old, this additional dose must be administered six months after completing the schedule.

A group that requires special attention is that of people with immunosuppression who should receive the third dose 30 days after having finished the initial schedule. The same is true for people with transplants, in a cancer treatment or with primary immune deficiency diseases.

"We want to urge the public to be mindful of the schedules, to go to a vaccination point and receive their immunization; at four months for those over 50, and at six months, for the population between 18 and 49 years old" the director concluded.