Individuals who had prior COVID-19 infection were more protected against the Delta variant compared to those who were only vaccinated, revealed a study conducted in the United States, suggesting that natural immunity was more protective compared to vaccines against that variant.

However, protection against the Delta variant was the highest among those who were both vaccinated and had had a prior COVID infection. Moreover, protection was found to be the lowest among those who had never been infected or vaccinated.

The findings; however, do not apply to the Omicron variant, which is accountable for around 99.5% of COVID-19 cases in the United States at present. Vaccination continues to be the safest strategy against COVID-19, noted the report published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report… (Reuters, January 20, 2022)