Jesse Scheckner
People who caught and recovered from COVID-19 boast far stronger immunity to the virus — including its delta variant — than those who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a newly published Israeli study that has not been peer reviewed.
Those previously infected who then got a single shot of the vaccine gained additional protection against the delta variant, though the long-term benefits of the booster dose were unknown at the time of the study’s completion.
Natural immunity, a preprint of the article on medRxiv said, “confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the (Pfizer-BioNTech) two-dose vaccine-induced immunity.”
In the largest real-world study to date comparing vaccine-induced and natural immunity to COVID-19, researchers at Maccabi Healthcare and Tel Aviv University examined the medical records of some 76,000 Israelis age 16 and older from June 1 to Aug. 14, when the delta variant was the dominant strain in the country.
They found that vaccine recipients were about six times more at risk for breakthrough infection and, if infected, seven times more prone to symptomatic disease than those who caught and recovered from the virus between March 2020 and February 2021.
Vaccinees also exhibited a greater risk for COVID-19-realted hospitalizations compared to people whose bodies developed antibodies naturally.
However, a comparison of more than 14,000 people who caught the virus, recovered and remained unvaccinated and previously infected subjects who got one shot of the vaccine found that the unvaccinated group had double the risk of reinfection than their counterparts.
Notably, no study participant came down with a new case of COVID-19 and died, which made comparing death rates impossible.
The long-term effectiveness of a two-dose vaccine regimen remains unknown. Available data has shown that protection lessens over time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Aug. 18, when it announced Pfizer and Moderna booster shots are likely to come next month.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Ministry of Health reported that a third vaccine dose boosts protection against severe illness from the virus to 97%, with peak immunity coming 16 days after the shot is administered.
12 comments
Susie
August 27, 2021 at 1:06 pm
Yet, many people who have the Delta variant in the US DID already have Covid and were re-infected. Not to mention the damage done to their bodies by the Covid virus versus no damage done by vaccines. This article appears to suggest those who have had Covid are just fine now and don’t need vaccines. Though it does show that post-infection, even a single dose of the vaccine is very protective. It’s irresponsible not to mention how many people will suffer long term, serious health effects from the virus, some very debilitating from even asymptomatic Covid. Putting a little information out there without broader perspective is dangerous, because people will run with the information they want to hear while not knowing the whole picture.
Awake
August 27, 2021 at 5:38 pm
no damage by the vaccine HAHAHAAHA! Funny joke.
Ovyd
August 27, 2021 at 9:16 pm
Wrong, only a tiny percentage get reinfected, and it’s always lighter or asymptomatic. Stop spreading fear. The vast majority of people from the high risk categories got the shot already.
Craig
September 2, 2021 at 1:40 pm
show me where you got the data to back up your comments. ACTUAL SCIENTIFIC PROOF please. How many people got reinfected exactly?
Cat
August 28, 2021 at 2:01 am
It amazes me that people like Susie think people who have recovered from Covid will have long term health effects but she can’t comprehend that an untested vaccine has the same risk of long term side effects.
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Jodie
August 28, 2021 at 9:13 am
With FL having record hospitalizations, deaths, children in hospitals, etc., this headline is not merely misleading, but dangerous. Do better.
martin
August 28, 2021 at 12:32 pm
This was a well done study. I am surprised that this left leaning yellow rag would even mention it.
Here is another, direct from the mouth of america’s dr. garden gnome;
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fauci-recommends-covid-19-treatment-170700369.html
Diane Rodriguez
August 30, 2021 at 7:45 pm
This is a pre-print and not yet peer-reviewed. Also, the immunity described is for people who had the Delta variant between January and March and they did not do PCR testing for asymptomatic cases. This from the study:
“Our study has several limitations. First, as the Delta variant was the dominant strain in Israel during the outcome period, the decreased long-term protection of the vaccine compared to that afforded by previous infection cannot be ascertained against other strains. Second, our analysis addressed protection afforded solely by the BioNTech/Pfizer mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine, and therefore does not address other vaccines or long-term protection following a third dose, of which the deployment is underway in Israel. Additionally, as this is an observational real-world study, where PCR screening was not performed by protocol, we might be underestimating asymptomatic infections, as these individuals often do not get tested.”
Miami beacher
August 29, 2021 at 4:11 pm
Bottom line is covid vaccines are immensely beneficial in reducing hospitalization and death. But this is still big news.
People who had covid have no statistically significant need, at all, to to take the vaccine. It would make more sense (statistically speaking ) for governments to mandate motorcycle helmets to all seat belted car riders to prevent head injuries in crashes then to require healthy Covid survivors to get any vaccines.
Any vaccine passports or mandates that don’t exempt Covid survivors are clearly not based on science and should be challenged in court!
Stephanie Field
August 29, 2021 at 8:14 pm
“However, a comparison of more than 14,000 people who caught the virus, recovered and remained unvaccinated and previously infected subjects who got one shot of the vaccine found that the unvaccinated group had double the risk of reinfection than their counterparts.
Notably, no study participant came down with a new case of COVID-19 and died, which made comparing death rates impossible.”
Diane Rodriguez
August 30, 2021 at 7:40 pm
The study makes it clear this was limited only to those who had the Delta variant between January and March. I know of cases in California where someone unvaccinated had Covid-19 6-8 months ago, and now is sick as a dog with the Delta variant.Also, the study has not yet been peer reviewed:
“Our study has several limitations. First, as the Delta variant was the dominant strain in Israel during the outcome period, the decreased long-term protection of the vaccine compared to that afforded by previous infection cannot be ascertained against other strains. “
2021.08.24.21262415v1.full.pdf
And, as Dr. RObert Schooley said,
“But experts cautioned that these results shouldn’t encourage people to go out and get infected. Robert Schooley, MD, of the University of California San Diego, told MedPage Today that waiting around to get infected with the hopes of gaining natural immunity puts people at risk of infection without a baseline level of protection.”
“Unvaccinated people who get infected are where we see the deaths occurring,” he wrote in an email. “Putting yourself at risk of dying to have ‘natural’ immunity is not a great tradeoff.”
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