February 17, 2023 – The natural immunity conferred by a COVID infection protects an individual from severe disease in addition to two doses of an mRNA vaccine, a brand new study finds.
In people infected with COVID, the chance of hospitalization and death inside 10 months was reduced by 88% in comparison with individuals who weren’t infected. says the studypublished in The Lancet.
Natural immunity from the infection is “at least as high, if not higher” than the immunity conferred by two doses of Moderna or Pfizer's mRNA vaccines against the unique Alpha, Delta and Omicron BA.1 variants, the study says.
However, protection against the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron was not as high, standing at 36% ten months after infection, says the research team from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation on the University of Washington.
The researchers examined 65 studies from 19 countries as much as September 31, 2022. Data on infections with Omicron XBB and its sublines weren’t examined. People who were resistant to each infection and vaccination (so-called hybrid immunity) weren’t studied.
The results don’t mean that individuals should skip vaccinations and intentionally infect themselves with COVID, one in all the researchers said NBC News.
“The problem with saying 'I'm going to get infected to get immunity' is that you may be one of the people who ends up in the hospital or dies,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the IHME. “Why take the risk when you can definitely get immunity through vaccination?”
The findings could help people determine one of the best time to get vaccinated or a booster shot and help authorities set guidelines on vaccination requirements within the workplace and rules for busy indoor spaces, the study concluded.
According to NBC News, this was the biggest meta-analysis so far on immunity after infection.