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Californians are increasingly expected to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of work and play. But why should those who have survived a stroke of the disease, and thus acquired natural immunity against the coronavirus, also be vaccinated?
The claim that previous infection offers protection against the virus that is just as robust as inoculation has long been used as an argument against the requirement for vaccines. But health officials say there are a few reasons everyone, including COVID-19 survivors, should roll up their sleeves.
Experts agree that getting and then curing COVID-19 usually confers some natural immunity. But the degree of this protection may differ from person to person and may not last as long as a vaccination.
Data suggests that unvaccinated people who survive COVID-19 will be much more protected if they get vaccinated after recovering from their illness.
After a coronavirus infection, “it looks like your protection can vary” depending on a number of factors, said Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County director of public health.
“It’s absolutely true,” she said of unvaccinated COVID-19 survivors that “you have some immunity. But that doesn’t last very long, or long enough, given the length of the pandemic. “
Natural immunity is not bulletproof. There have been a number of documented re-infections of the coronavirus detected around the world.
A study conducted in Kentucky and published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that among people previously infected with the coronavirus in 2020, unvaccinated people were more than twice as likely to be re-infected. by the coronavirus by 2021 than people who are fully vaccinated. .
The CDC now says people who test positive for the coronavirus again three months after overcoming a previous infection should be considered to have a new case of the virus, Ferrer said. Government officials suspect that their diminishing natural immunity has allowed the virus to invade their bodies again.
“There is more compelling evidence that indicates that if you have been infected, you really benefit tremendously from the vaccination. And that it really stimulates your system… to be ready to fend off the virus the next time there’s a threat to your body, ”Ferrer said.
While it is also possible that those vaccinated will be infected, officials point out that those who are not vaccinated remain particularly at risk, especially given the ubiquity of the highly infectious Delta variant.
Unvaccinated Californians are about eight times more likely to be infected with the coronavirus – and nearly 18 times more likely to die from COVID-19 – than their fully vaccinated counterparts, according to recent data from the Department of Public Health of the United States. ‘State.
“The recommendation is clear that you should be vaccinated even if you have had a naturally acquired illness,” UC San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford said in an interview.
Besides the uncertainty over the endurance of natural immunity, officials say there are practical reasons why the new vaccine requirements do not include an exclusion for those who have previously had the disease.
While physical and digital records are readily available for test results and vaccinations, officials say it would be impossible to assess the level of protection a person has gained from a previous infection.
LA County is one of the jurisdictions that have made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for their workers. Starting Thursday, the county will also begin requiring attendees and workers at outdoor events with more than 10,000 attendees to provide proof of vaccination or show they have recently tested negative for the coronavirus.
In indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges, customers and employees will also need to prove that they have received at least one dose of vaccine by Thursday and are fully vaccinated from here Nov. 4.
Healthcare workers statewide are also required to show proof of vaccination to continue working, while allowing limited exemptions for medical and religious reasons.
Dr Christina Ghaly, director of LA County Health Services, said some county workers who survived COVID-19 but were not vaccinated asked if they had measurable levels of antibodies to prove that they were immune to COVID-19.
There is currently no evidence that allows health officials to discern this, Ghaly said.
“As much as we’d like to read this, the evidence just isn’t there to support that kind of analysis at this point,” Ghaly said.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
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