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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
February 20, 2023
According to researchers, the natural immunity – acquired by a past infection – would be “as effective” as a vaccination.
This is good news for all the old “covids”. According to a study published in the journal The Lancetthe immunity acquired by a natural infection with the coronavirus would be just as “effective” as vaccination.
“The level of infection also seems to be sustainable”
The study published in the medical journal The Lancet is based on messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna and covers different strains of the virus. It reveals that a past infection would protect as well as a vaccine.
“Even if an infection gives a protection which decreases over time, the level of this one (…) seems as long-lasting, even more than that conferred by vaccination” say the authors.
To arrive at these results, the researchers carried out a “meta-analysis of efficacy of prior infection” (infection, symptomatic disease and severe disease), variant and duration since infection. This work thus compiles around sixty studies already carried out, with a follow-up of several years. Omicron.
Result: acquired protection (via past infection) against reinfection by pre-omicron variants”was very high and remained so even after 40 weeks“.
On the other hand, the protection was noticeably “weaker” for the omicron BA.1 variant and decreased faster than “that acquired during the previous variants“.
Unsurprising findings according to Dr. Kierzek.
“We should not bet everything on the vaccine strategy; and, I believe, we have come back. Healthy people develop a natural immunity that is sometimes stronger than vaccine protection..
“Hybrid” immunity: a new anti-covid weapon
These results do not mean that the vaccination strategy put in place should be slowed down or that it is preferable to be infected. It is much more risky to be infected, in particular for the most fragile, who are at risk of developing serious forms of Covid-19, and who must therefore continue to be vaccinated.
Nevertheless, this study gives a clearer view of what the researchers call an immunity “hybrid“, resulting from past infection and vaccination.
“In the long term, most infections will strike people who are well protected against serious forms, following a previous infection, vaccination or both.“, conclude researchers outside the study, in a commentary also published in The Lancet.