New Study Determines People Who’ve Had COVID-19 Don’t Need to Get Vaccinated

• Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic say that people who’ve already had COVID-19 may not necessarily benefit from vaccination.
• They said that people with prior infection had similar protection to those who were fully vaccinated.
• Researchers are still uncovering how natural immunity compares to immunity from vaccination.
• Some health experts are recommending that people who’ve had COVID-19 still get a single dose of vaccine.

A new study from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio has found that people who’ve already had COVID-19 may not necessarily benefit from vaccination.

The research indicates that out of a large pool of healthcare workers, there were nearly 0 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection among those who had:

• previously contracted the virus and were unvaccinated
• previously contracted the virus and were vaccinated
• never contracted the virus and were vaccinated

There was, however, a steady increase in cases among unvaccinated people who hadn’t previously contracted SARS-CoV-2.

According to the researchers, the findings suggest that natural infection provides immunity similar to vaccination. Therefore, people who haven’t had COVID-19 can be prioritized for vaccination.

Experts say that more research is needed to determine how long immunity lasts after a case of COVID-19. Until we have that data, some infectious disease specialists are recommending that people who’ve had COVID-19 still get one dose.