CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As health leaders discuss how vaccination and the recent large numbers of COVID-19 infections might be coming together to usher the current pandemic into an endemic phase, there is more insight forming about how the different types of COVID-19 immunity might factor into that move.
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that, separately, COVID-19 immunity from prior infection and from vaccination are both better than no immunity at all. However, the two sources of immunity together might provide the best level of protection.
The report looked at coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in California and New York from May to November 2021, covering the period of time when the delta variant became the predominant strain in those states.
The report states that, before and during the delta surge, people without vaccination and without infection immunity had the highest case and hospitalization rates. After delta gained its predominance, vaccinated people without prior infections and unvaccinated people with prior infections had lower rates, and vaccinated people with prior infections had the lowest rates of all groups.
Dr. David Priest, an infectious disease specialist with Novant Health, said the severity of a person's prior infection might also play a role in their future protection, with more severe cases possibly leading to better protection than milder cases.
"What we're finding is that individuals who've had COVID, who've also been vaccinated, appear to have more protection from avoiding that reinfection," Priest said. "So, that's the group that has the most protection."
Health leaders warn against intentionally catching COVID-19, since, among other reasons, it is hard to predict how a person will fare with their infection -- a gamble not worth taking.
Priest also said a person should not solely rely on a prior COVID-19 infection for protection since that immunity might not last very long.
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"We would encourage individuals who've had COVID before, particularly if it's been more than six months ago, who have not been vaccinated to consider it," Priest said. "That would really reduce your chance of getting reinfected with omicron and certainly having complications from it."
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.