Less COVID-19 testing available in Ontario leads to confusion about vaccines

A public health nurse with the Porcupine Health Unit in Timmins, Ont., says she is getting more questions from patients about the province's vaccine recommendations when testing isn't readily available for many people.

The COVID-19 vaccination guidelines say that if people have completed their vaccination series but have tested positive for COVID-19, they should wait at least six months from the time of infection before getting their next dose.

But the province has moved to what it calls a "test-to-treat" policy,  in which only certain people — such as those ages 65 and older and individuals who are immunocompromised — can get a subsidized rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

Public health nurse Brooke Thompson said that leaves a lot of people who don't qualify for those free tests uncertain about whether they've had COVID-19.

"With so many viruses going around, it's hard to distinguish what you had. Did you have a cold, the flu or COVID or even RSV?" she said.

"So unless you have that positive test that says it was, in fact, COVID-19, then we would defer the vaccine. If it wasn't, then maybe you did just have a cold and you're eligible for that COVID-19 vaccine."

Brenda Stankiewicz, a public health nurse with Public Health Sudbury and Districts, said the province's six-month wait recommendation exists because a COVID infection does grant some natural immunity to the virus.

"When you have a COVID infection in your body, it has built-up immunity," she said.

"Getting a dose of COVID-19 vaccine will provide added protection against the virus. But at that time, your body already has a high level of protection."

Stankiewicz added there's no harm if someone who had a COVID-19 infection gets a vaccine dose before the six months are up.

In an email to CBC News, Ontario's Ministry of Health said, "If an individual cannot test themselves for COVID-19, and suspect they had COVID-19, they are still recommended to receive their next vaccine dose if it has been six months since their last dose."