CDC Study Finds Vaccines Provide More Immunity Than Previous COVID-19 Infection

As more companies mandate COVID-19 vaccines, a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that unvaccinated individuals are more than twice as likely to be reinfected with COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated after initially contracting the virus.

The study looked at hundreds of Kentucky adults who had previous COVID-19 infections in 2020 and experienced a second infection between May and June 2021, the time of the emergence and spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. It found that the unvaccinated individuals had 2.34 times greater odds of reinfection compared with fully vaccinated individuals. 

The data indicates that COVID-19 vaccines offer better protection than natural immunity alone and that vaccines, even after prior infection, help prevent reinfections.

“If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “This study shows you are twice as likely to get infected again if you are unvaccinated. Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious delta variant spreads around the country.”