Immunity From COVID-19 Infection Not as Strong as Immunity From Vaccine

Wednesday, October 13th, 2021 -- 1:01 PM

(Bob Hague, WRN) The immunity conferred by a COVID-19 infection is not as strong or long lasting as the immunity from vaccines, according to UW Health’s Dr. Jeff Pothof.

“If you get vaccine induced immunity, it likely lasts longer and it likely provides better protection against COVID-19 than natural immunity, which likely is shorter in duration and provides less coverage, especially against Delta variant, with the caveat that those folks that have had COVID-19 that then go on to get vaccinated probably have the best immunity of all."

"So if you get COVID-19, and you develop that immune response which most people will, you’re probably pretty well protected for about three months. But then after that three months that immunity rapidly fades. Which isn’t supers surprising because we have a lot of experience with other coronaviruses, and we don’t typically make great immune response.”

“Natural immunity likely does not the same level of protection, and likely does not provide the same durability or length of protection that vaccine-induced immunity provides.”

Just over 54 percent of Wisconsin has been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, with a seven-day average of 24-hundred new infections.

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