Covid-19: a previous infection protects as much as the vaccine, according to a study

Vaccination in Beijing, December 17, 2022 (Illustration image).

AP - Ren Chao

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

According to a study published in the journal The Lancet, a Covid-19 infection protects as much as the vaccine. 

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“

Even if an infection gives a protection which decreases over time, the level of this one (...) seems as durable, even more than that conferred by vaccination”

,

affirms the study

whose comparison is based on

messenger RNA

vaccines

from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, spearheads vaccination campaigns in many Western countries.

Numerous studies have already dealt with this subject, but this one is on an unprecedented scale.

In their work, the researchers compiled around sixty pre-existing studies with a follow-up of several years which notably takes into account the emergence at the end of 2021 of the

Omicron

variant .

This study thus gives a more precise vision of what can be expected within the population from the development of "

hybrid

" immunity, as more and more individuals will have been both vaccinated and sick at least once.

"

In the long term, most infections will strike people who are well protected against severe forms, following a previous infection, vaccination or both,"

said researchers, not involved in the study, in a comment also published by the

Lancet

.

These results therefore give hope that future waves of

Covid

will result in low levels of hospitalizations, they conclude, specifying however that these results do not mean that it is similar to get vaccinated or to catch the disease.

Falling ill remains more risky, especially for the elderly.

(With AFP)

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