NEW YORK (AP) — A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people who were both vaccinated and had survived a prior bout of COVID-19 were best protected from infection.
The study, that examined infections in New York and California last year, found that unvaccinated people with a past infection were a close second. By fall, when the more contagious delta variant had taken over but boosters weren't yet widespread, that group had a lower case rate than vaccinated people who had no past infection...
The research does fall in line with a small cluster of studies that found unvaccinated people with a previous infection had lower risks of COVID-19 diagnosis or illness than vaccinated people who were never before infected.
The new study's findings do make sense, said Christine Petersen, a University of Iowa epidemiologist. She said a vaccine developed against an earlier form of the coronavirus is likely to become less and less effective against newer, mutated versions...
Natural immunity superior to vaccines against delta variant, CDC study finds | WFLA