People who were unvaccinated but survived Covid were more protected than those who were vaccinated but had never been infected during America’s last coronavirus outbreak, according to a new study released Wednesday. The study is the latest to weigh in on the relative merits of natural vs vaccine-acquired immunity against SARS-CoV-2, and it comes with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s seal of approval (CDC).
The authors of the study cautioned against relying on infection as a strategy, citing the increased risks of hospitalisation, long-term effects, and death for unvaccinated people who have never been infected, compared to vaccinated people. Indeed, by November 30, 2021, about 131,000 citizens of California and New York, the two states on which the study was based, had died from Covid-19. The study was also conducted before to the emergence of the Omicron strain, which appears to have weakened both vaccination and infection-derived protection, and before boosters were widely available.
It used case data from 1.1 million people who tested positive in New York and California between May 30 to November 30, 2021, and used that to model inferences about the wider population. Vaccination provided stronger immunity than infection prior to Delta becoming dominant. However, as the variation became prevalent in late June and July, the connection shifted.
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