Big news from Maccabi Healthcare Services, which tracked many thousands of people for this (not yet peer-reviewed) study. If its findings are borne out, anyone who’s had COVID should be allowed to submit the results of a prior positive test in lieu of proof of vaccination wherever that’s required. After all, they’re much safer from the virus than the vaccinated are.
Israeli scientists compared three groups, those who’ve had both shots but never been infected, those who’ve been infected but haven’t had their shots, and those who’ve been infected and then had one shot. The third group was the most protected, but only slightly more than the natural immunity group was. That corresponds with other studies showing that infection plus vaccination equals the best possible immunity.
The surprise came when they compared the vaccinated group to the infected but unvaccinated group. Some scientists have speculated that vaccine immunity is actually superior to natural immunity in the belief that the shots produce a more diverse array of antibodies than infection does. That’s not what the Israelis found. Not only is natural immunity superior, it’s no contest. Especially in the age of Delta: