A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday revealed that people who had a bout of COVID-19 can enjoy a bonus of broader protection against new mutants when they are vaccinated, as they are protected by both their own antibodies and the vaccine.
This, as the U.S. is swamped with the Delta variant, averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day.
And health officials have once again renewed their calls for the unvaccinated to get inoculated, for the sake of every American.
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There is no doubt about it: COVID-19 vaccines can assuredly immunize people against the deadly COVID-19 virus.
It can also make COVID survivors immune to COVID.
Such is evidenced by a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which suggests vaccine can provide people who had a bout with COVID with a dramatic boost in virus-fighting immune cells, plus a bonus of broader protection against new COVID variants.
And in light of the current COVID situation in the U.S., CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, advised COVID survivors to get a vaccine although they already have their own antibodies.
But oftentimes COVID survivors don't heed that advice because they believe they are already protected, having contracted COVID and recovered.
That used to be true. But now, with new results from recent studies, scientists couldn't disagree more.
Having witnessed COVID survivors getting reinfected, scientists finally cast doubt on whether antibodies in COVID survivors' bodies can still prevent serious reinfection after a long period of time.
Researchers studied Kentucky residents with a lab-confirmed COVID infection back in 2020, with the vast majority of them between October and December. 246 people who got reinfected in May or June of this year and 492 similar survivors who remained healthy were compared. It was discovered that the survivors who never got inoculated had a much higher risk of reinfection than those who were fully vaccinated.
It stands to reason why natural immunity from earlier infection can't remain strong. And it's obvious a vaccine is needed to boost immunity.
After either vaccination or infection, the body develops antibodies that can fend off the coronavirus when it attempts to invade next time. They unfortunately wane over time. But not to worry, T lymphocytes, or T cells, an essential part of the immune system, can help prevent serious illness by killing virus-infected cells. Then, memory B cells, which form part of the adaptive immune system, reflexively jump into action to make lots of new antibodies that are on hand to weather every storm.
With the Delta variant still spreading like wildfire by reason of its incredible infectiousness, it is prudent to get vaccinated to prevent infection, as vaccines still hold the key to stamping out the virus despite their inability to prevent infections completely.
And rest assured, COVID survivors getting vaccinated can ensure their antibodies will be firing on all cylinders, thereby allowing them to not only contribute to the all-out effort to eradicate the virus, but also help protect everyone around them.
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