Natural Immunity
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Science:
Immunity acquired from a Covid infection provides strong, lasting protection against the most severe outcomes of the illness, according to research published Thursday in The Lancet — protection, experts say, that’s on par with what’s provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine.
Infection-acquired immunity cut the risk of hospitalization and death from a Covid reinfection by 88% for at least 10 months, the study found.
“This is really good news, in the sense that protection against severe disease and death after infection is really quite sustained at 10 months,” said the senior study author, Dr. Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
The findings may be a small silver lining to the explosive omicron outbreak of last winter. With so many people infected, many most likely still benefit from that protection against severe disease, Murray said.
Still, experts stress that vaccination is the preferable route to immunity, given the risks of Covid, particularly in unvaccinated people.
“The problem of saying ‘I’m gonna get infected to get immunity’ is you might be one of those people that end up in the hospital or die,” Murray said. “Why would you take the risk when you can get immunity through vaccination quite safely?”
The study was the largest meta-analysis to date to look at immunity following infection. It included 65 studies from 19 countries and compared the risk of developing Covid again in people who had recovered from infections to people who hadn’t been infected through September. People who had hybrid immunity, or immunity from both infection and vaccination, were excluded. Omicron subvariants that emerged in the late fall and early winter of last year, including BQ.1 and the now-dominant XBB.1.5, weren’t included.
While protection from severe disease remained high, people could be reinfected — particularly with an omicron subvariant — consistent with evidence that protection against having symptoms wanes faster than protection against hospitalization and death.
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Seems consistent with other viruses AFAIK. But as usual it’s safer to get the immunity from a vaccine than from an infection.
@Jolly I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
Only non-witches get due process.
- Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
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Seems consistent with other viruses AFAIK. But as usual it’s safer to get the immunity from a vaccine than from an infection.
@Jolly I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
@jon-nyc said in Natural Immunity:
@Jolly I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
We were told everything was fine, not to worry, it's all under control.
Remember that? That kind of lying was ok, as it was for our own good.
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Seems consistent with other viruses AFAIK. But as usual it’s safer to get the immunity from a vaccine than from an infection.
@Jolly I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
@jon-nyc said in Natural Immunity:
I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
Being "told" otherwise is different. There are instances of people who have gotten and recovered from COVID who were denied jobs, or fired because of vaccine refusal.
I don't doubt the policy of encouraging vaccination, particularly in the elderly (like me), but making it a requirement, if you've already had it, is questionable.
@Doctor-Phibes said:
We were told everything was fine, not to worry, it's all under control.
Remember that? That kind of lying was ok, as it was for our own good.
Which kind of lying, the Tucker Carlson kind, or the "You won't get COVID" kind?
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@jon-nyc said in Natural Immunity:
I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
Being "told" otherwise is different. There are instances of people who have gotten and recovered from COVID who were denied jobs, or fired because of vaccine refusal.
I don't doubt the policy of encouraging vaccination, particularly in the elderly (like me), but making it a requirement, if you've already had it, is questionable.
@Doctor-Phibes said:
We were told everything was fine, not to worry, it's all under control.
Remember that? That kind of lying was ok, as it was for our own good.
Which kind of lying, the Tucker Carlson kind, or the "You won't get COVID" kind?
@George-K said in Natural Immunity:
Which kind of lying, the Tucker Carlson kind, or the "You won't get COVID" kind?
Apparently it's all ok as long as it's our guys doing the lying.
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Seems consistent with other viruses AFAIK. But as usual it’s safer to get the immunity from a vaccine than from an infection.
@Jolly I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
@jon-nyc said in Natural Immunity:
Seems consistent with other viruses AFAIK. But as usual it’s safer to get the immunity from a vaccine than from an infection.
@Jolly I don’t remember being told otherwise, I only remember there not being sufficient data.
That’s my recollection as well.
