STUDY: 1 vaccine dose after prior COVID infection protects against reinfection compared to no vaccine
2 doses in this study had no benefit over 1 dose
Hi friends,
Some exciting news on the “immunity from prior infection” front. A new study out of Israel just published in the NEJM has shown that people who have COVID and get 1 dose of the Pfizer vaccine after having COVID have a lower risk of reinfection compared to those that remain unvaccinated.
They studied ~150,000 people who had recovered from COVID infection. ~56% of these patients (83,356) got vaccinated within 9 months of having had COVID. Subsequent COVID reinfections were noted in 354 of the vaccinated (2.46 cases per 100,000 persons per day) vs 2168 of the unvaccinated (10.2 cases per 100,000 persons per day). This means that those that got vaccinated were LESS likely to contract COVID again compared to those that didn’t.
Interestingly, they also found that there was no significant difference in vaccine effectiveness in those that got 2 doses compared to 1, meaning that in this study, 1 dose worked just as well as 2 doses, in patients that had prior COVID.
What does this mean?
The debate about immunity from prior COVID infection has been raging for months. This study just adds to a mountain of high quality data (like this study) that shows that being vaccinated after COVID infection offers better protection than relying on prior infection alone. Also remember, all immunity is natural, whether you get it from prior infection or the vaccine.
GET AT LEAST 1 DOSE!
Now, no one has ever denied the existence of immunity after infection; it’s just not as robust, reliable, or consistent as immunity from the vaccine
However, with this new data coming out, I will say that I’m happy to change my recommendation because I listen to the science. If you are someone on the fence about getting vaccinated after COVID infection, please consider getting AT LEAST just 1 dose to protect yourself. I do still think you should at least get 2 doses (prior COVID infection helps), I’m not sure a 3rd shot is absolutely needed, but can consider that too.
Please share these important findings with your friends!!
Follow Dr. Siyab on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter
I work hard on providing the most up-to-date and evidence based information regarding COVID-19 and the vaccines on social media and this newsletter, for free. If you have benefited from it, please consider making a small donation to support my mission: Venmo or PayPal. Thank you for your support!
Join over 3,000 other people and get science based COVID news and updates to your inbox, for free.
Comments? Thoughts?