Some people who have recovered from COVID-19 are rejecting the vaccine. But will natural immunity be enough to protect them? Let’s connect the dots.
Health experts warn recovering from COVID-19 is not enough to protect from reinfection. While the antibodies from natural infection do provide some protections, the data shows that the vaccines are much better at protecting you.
In fact, a study published by the Center for Disease Control found that people with natural immunity were twice as likely to be reinfected than people who were vaccinated after recovering. That is leading doctors to recommend people who have recovered from COVID get the shot.
More asymptomatic, more spread
There is another issue with natural immunity, people reinfected with the virus are more likely to not have symptoms. That increases the risk that they will spread COVID-19 to others, including immune compromised friends and family and children.
Milder cases, hospitalization still possible
While people fighting coronavirus for the second time do tend to have milder cases that doesn’t mean everyone is safe. There are exceptions and reinfected patients are ending up hospitalized. In fact, one case presented in the Lancet found a 25-year-old man whose second bout with COVID was more severe than the first.