There are two main ways to gain immunity to Covid-19. The first is to have had a previous Covid-19 infection. This is not recommended. If your first encounter with the SARS-Cov-2 virus kills you, your state of immunity becomes a moot point. Even if it doesn’t kill you, symptomatic Covid-19 is no picnic. Even an asymptomatic case is something to be avoided. Asymptomatic infected people can still infect the people around them, possibly with serious consequences.
The second way to gain immunity to the SARS-Cov-2 virus is to be vaccinated. A question you may have is, “How protective is the vaccine, compared to the immunity gained by having a previous infection?” Several different vaccines have been created in medical labs around the world, with almost all of them claiming high effectiveness.
A letter published on March 19, 2021 at JAMA.com describes a study that measured the immune response in three different groups of study participants.
- Group A consisted of serum from 20 individuals in the acute phase of a Covid-19 infection.
- Group B consisted of serum from 20 individuals in the convalescent phase of a Covid-19 infection, after the virus had been cleared from their bodies.
- Group C consisted of serum from 14 individuals who had received the Moderna vaccine.
The reactivity of the serum samples was tested against four different variants of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. The variants were:
- A.1, a variant close to the original Wuhan strain and the target of the vaccine developers
- B.1, the predominant variant in the USA at the time of testing
- B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in Kent, UK
- N501Y, a variant developed from an infectious clone (not found in nature)
In all three serum groups (acute disease, convalescent recovery, vaccination) an immune response was raised, and this was true for all four virus variants tested. Across the board, the response was strongest against the A.1 variant. This is not surprising, since that variant was the original target of vaccine development. Significantly, of the three triggers of immunity (active disease, convalescent disease, and vaccination), the reactivity to vaccination was about ten times stronger than it was to either of the responses raised by the actual disease.
The bottom line is clear. Get vaccinated. This study shows that the Moderna vaccine provides better immunity to Covid-19 than does a bout with the infection itself. Other vaccines, such as the Pfizer one, were not tested in this study, but in all likelihood perform similarly to the Moderna vaccine in raising a strong immune response.
BIO:
Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org.