Washington, Jan. 19 (BUS): A new study in two states comparing protection against coronavirus from previous infections and vaccination concludes that getting vaccinated is still the safest way to prevent COVID-19.
The study examined infections in New York and California last summer and fall and found that people who had been vaccinated and had survived a previous bout of COVID-19 had the greatest protection, according to the Associated Press.
But unvaccinated people with previous infections were a close second. By the fall, when the more infectious delta variant had taken hold but the boosters were not yet prevalent, that group had a lower case rate than vaccinated people who had no previous infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the study Wednesday, noted several caveats to the research. Some outside experts have been cautious about the results and wary of how to interpret them.
“The ultimate message is that from asymptomatic COVID infection, you generate some immunity,” said immunologist E. Jon Weiry of the University of Pennsylvania. “But getting your immunity from a vaccination is still much safer than getting an infection.
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