Covid-19: The highly acclaimed Lancet medical journal has conducted a research on Covid 19. The new study shows that people who have previously been infected with Covid-19 have at least 90% lower risk of hospitalization or death compared to those who have not been infected.
Protection remains high for up to 10 months
The review analyzed five studies reporting on severe disease (hospitalization and death) and found that protection remained high for 10 months, with a 90% reduction in risk for the ancestral coronavirus variants including Alpha and Delta, and an 88% reduction in risk for Omicron BA.1.
The review also found that the level and duration of protection against reinfection, symptomatic disease, and severe illness provided by prior infection are at least comparable to that provided by two doses of mRNA vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer-BioNtech) for ancestral, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron BA.1 variants. However, the study did not include data on infection from Omicron XBB and its sub-lineages.
The report said, “For people who have been infected with Covid-19 at least once before, natural immunity against severe disease (hospitalisation and death) was strong and long-lasting for all variants (88% or greater at 10 months post infection).”
Protection comparable to mRNA vaccines
The researchers cautioned that the findings should not discourage vaccination, as getting vaccinated remains the safest way to acquire immunity. Additionally, six studies that specifically evaluated protection against Omicron sub-lineages (BA.2 and BA.4/BA.5) found significantly reduced protection when the prior infection was from a pre-Omicron variant, but protection was maintained at a higher level when the past infection was Omicron.
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