The CDC previously had rejected the idea that natural immunity was effective against Covid, despite flying in the face of a substantial body of research indicating that it did.  However, a recent CDC study reviewed data from New York and California from May to November 2021. It was found that by the first week of October 2021, Covid-19 rates among the vaccinated who did not experience any previous infection were 6.2 and 4.5 times lower in California and New York than among the unvaccinated with no previous infection, but the unvaccinated but had experienced a prior Covid-19 infection, the case rate was 29 times lower in California and 14.7 times lower in New York. It was concluded that previous infection with Covid offered natural immunity and protection.

https://www.naturalnews.com/2022-01-21-study-natural-immunity-better-than-vaccine-immunity.html

“Natural immunity acquired from a previous Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection provided significantly more protection against the virus than the vaccines. This is according to a bombshell new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The study, released Wednesday, reviewed data from New York and California from May to Nov. 2021. During this time, the post-vaccine delta variant was the most dominant COVID-19 strain circulating in the United States.

The CDC researchers examined four categories of people – the unvaccinated and vaccinated with no prior COVID-19 infection and the unvaccinated and vaccinated who had recovered from a previous COVID-19 infection.

According to the results of the study, by the first week of Oct. 2021, COVID-19 rates among the vaccinated who did not experience any previous infection were 6.2 and 4.5 times lower in California and New York, respectively, than among the unvaccinated with no previous infection.

But among those who were unvaccinated but had experienced a prior COVID-19 infection, the case rate was 29 times lower in California and 14.7 times lower in New York.

“These results demonstrate that … surviving a previous infection protects against a reinfection and related hospitalization,” admitted the CDC.

The CDC could not claim that natural immunity alone can protect people against COVID-19. The agency claimed that the data showed people who were vaccinated and had survived a previous COVID-19 infection were the most protected group among the four studied.

But the CDC did admit that natural immunity provided more protection against the vaccine-resistant delta variant and that the supposed immunity provided by the vaccines had begun to disappear by the time the post-vaccine variant became the dominant strain in the United States.

Research proves natural immunity superior to vaccine immunity

Public health officials and leading members of the government have repeatedly attempted to downplay the effectiveness of natural immunity against the coronavirus, insisting that the experimental and dangerous vaccines alone are sufficient in protecting people against COVID-19.

What the CDC’s research shows is that prior infection offers more protection than the vaccines.

Mainstream media outlets that covered this story attempted to downplay the finding that natural immunity outperformed vaccine-acquired immunity. They instead attempted to overemphasize that a combination of both natural and vaccine-acquired immunity supposedly offered the best protection.

“Before the delta variant, COVID-19 vaccination resulted in better protection against a subsequent infection than surviving a previous infection,” said Dr. Benjamin Silk, an infectious disease epidemiologist working for the CDC. “When looking at the summer and fall of 2021, when delta became dominant in this country, however, surviving a previous infection now provided greater protection against subsequent infection than vaccination.”

During a media briefing, Silk was forced to backtrack by claiming that the evidence presented in the study does not change the CDC’s recommendations regarding vaccination.

“We know that vaccination is still the safest way to protect yourself against COVID-19,” he said.

Government officials have also gone on a media blitz to try and bury this study by promoting more vaccinations.

Dr. Eli Rosenberg, Deputy Director for Science for the New York State Department of Health claimed that the safest course of action, especially for people who have never had COVID-19, is still to get vaccinated.

“Having COVID the first time carries with it significant risks, and becoming vaccinated and staying up-to-date with boosters really is the only safe choice for preventing COVID infection and severe disease,” he said.

Dr. Marty Makary, a professor and public policy researcher for Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has called out policymakers for their failure to acknowledge the power of natural immunity.

“The pandemic of the unvaccinated is a misnomer. It’s a pandemic of the non-immune,” he once wrote. “More precisely, it’s a series of regional outbreaks in select pockets of the country with low population immunity.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/bombshell-cdc-study-natural-immunity-provides-significantly-protection-covid-vaccination/

“A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Wednesday shows that those who have recovered from COVID-19 have more protection against infection than those who have only been vaccinated.

Researchers reviewed data from California and New York from May to November, when the delta variant was dominant in the U.S.

The study looked at four groups of people: unvaccinated with no prior COVID-19 infection, vaccinated with no prior infection, unvaccinated who recovered from COVID-19, and vaccinated who recovered.

By the first week of October, COVID-19 rates among the vaccinated with no previous infection were 6.2 times lower in California and 4.5 times lower in New York than among the unvaccinated with no previous infection.

However, among the unvaccinated with a previous infection, the COVID-19 rate was 29 times lower in California and 14.7 times lower in New York.

The individuals most protected against infection were those who had previously had COVID-19 and were also vaccinated. Their infection rate was 32.5 times lower in California and 19.8 times lower in New York.

“These results demonstrate that vaccination protects against COVID-19 and related hospitalization, and that surviving a previous infection protects against a reinfection and related hospitalization,” the CDC determined.

The agency noted that natural immunity proved more efficacious as the delta variant became predominant and vaccine-induced immunity for many began to wane.

The CDC also highlighted that the study took place before omicron became the dominant variant in the U.S. and before the impact of booster shots could be adequately measured.

Dr. Benjamin Silk of the CDC told the media on Wednesday, “Before the delta variant, COVID-19 vaccination resulted in better protection against a subsequent infection than surviving a previous infection,” CNN reported.

“When looking at the summer and the fall of 2021, when delta became the dominant in this country, however, surviving a previous infection now provided greater protection against subsequent infection than vaccination,” he added.

Dr. Eli Rosenberg, New York state deputy director for science said the safest course of action for those who have never had COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.

“Having COVID the first time carries with it significant risks, and becoming vaccinated and staying up-to-date with boosters really is the only safe choice for preventing COVID infection and severe disease,” he said.

Dr. Marty Makary, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has faulted policymakers for being too slow to acknowledge natural immunity.”

“The pandemic of the unvaccinated is a misnomer. It’s a pandemic of the non-immune,” he tweeted in July.

“More precisely, it’s a series of regional outbreaks in select pockets of the country with low population immunity,” Makary said. “Same take-home message though: If you’re not immune, get immune by getting vaxed.”

“COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations by COVID-19 Vaccination Status and Previous COVID-19 Diagnosis — California and New York, May–November 2021

Early Release / January 19, 2022 / 71

Tomás M. León, PhD¹; Vajeera Dorabawila, PhD²; Lauren Nelson, MPH¹; Emily Lutterloh, MD^2,3; Ursula E. Bauer, PhD²; Bryon Backenson, MPH^2,3; Mary T. Bassett, MD²; Hannah Henry, MPH¹; Brooke Bregman, MPH¹; Claire M. Midgley, PhD⁴; Jennifer F. Myers, MPH¹; Ian D. Plumb, MBBS⁴; Heather E. Reese, PhD⁴; Rui Zhao, MPH¹; Melissa Briggs-Hagen, MD⁴; Dina Hoefer, PhD²; James P. Watt, MD¹; Benjamin J. Silk, PhD⁴; Seema Jain, MD¹; Eli S. Rosenberg, PhD^2,3 

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

Data are limited regarding the risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization after COVID-19 vaccination and previous infection.

What is added by this report?

During May–November 2021, case and hospitalization rates were highest among persons who were unvaccinated without a previous diagnosis. Before Delta became the predominant variant in June, case rates were higher among persons who survived a previous infection than persons who were vaccinated alone. By early October, persons who survived a previous infection had lower case rates than persons who were vaccinated alone.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Although the epidemiology of COVID-19 might change as new variants emerge, vaccination remains the safest strategy for averting future SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, long-term sequelae, and death. Primary vaccination, additional doses, and booster doses are recommended for all eligible persons. Additional future recommendations for vaccine doses might be warranted as the virus and immunity levels change.

 

By November 30, 2021, approximately 130,781 COVID-19–associated deaths, one in six of all U.S. deaths from COVID-19, had occurred in California and New York.* COVID-19 vaccination protects against infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), associated severe illness, and death (1,2); among those who survive, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection also confers protection against severe outcomes in the event of reinfection (3,4). The relative magnitude and duration of infection- and vaccine-derived protection, alone and together, can guide public health planning and epidemic forecasting. To examine the impact of primary COVID-19 vaccination and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection on COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates, statewide testing, surveillance, and COVID-19 immunization data from California and New York (which account for 18% of the U.S. population) were analyzed. Four cohorts of adults aged ≥18 years were considered: persons who were 1) unvaccinated with no previous laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, 2) vaccinated (14 days after completion of a primary COVID-19 vaccination series) with no previous COVID-19 diagnosis, 3) unvaccinated with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, and 4) vaccinated with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis. Age-adjusted hazard rates of incident laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in both states were compared among cohorts, and in California, hospitalizations during May 30–November 20, 2021, were also compared. During the study period, COVID-19 incidence in both states was highest among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis compared with that among the other three groups. During the week beginning May 30, 2021, compared with COVID-19 case rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, COVID-19 case rates were 19.9-fold (California) and 18.4-fold (New York) lower among vaccinated persons without a previous diagnosis; 7.2-fold (California) and 9.9-fold lower (New York) among unvaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis; and 9.6-fold (California) and 8.5-fold lower (New York) among vaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis. During the same period, compared with hospitalization rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization rates in California followed a similar pattern. These relationships changed after the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant became predominant (i.e., accounted for >50% of sequenced isolates) in late June and July. By the week beginning October 3, compared with COVID-19 cases rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, case rates among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis were 6.2-fold (California) and 4.5-fold (New York) lower; rates were substantially lower among both groups with previous COVID-19 diagnoses, including 29.0-fold (California) and 14.7-fold lower (New York) among unvaccinated persons with a previous diagnosis, and 32.5-fold (California) and 19.8-fold lower (New York) among vaccinated persons with a previous diagnosis of COVID-19. During the same period, compared with hospitalization rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization rates in California followed a similar pattern. These results demonstrate that vaccination protects against COVID-19 and related hospitalization, and that surviving a previous infection protects against a reinfection and related hospitalization. Importantly, infection-derived protection was higher after the Delta variant became predominant, a time when vaccine-induced immunity for many persons declined because of immune evasion and immunologic waning (2,5,6). Similar cohort data accounting for booster doses needs to be assessed, as new variants, including Omicron, circulate. Although the epidemiology of COVID-19 might change with the emergence of new variants, vaccination remains the safest strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated complications; all eligible persons should be up to date with COVID-19 vaccination. Additional recommendations for vaccine doses might be warranted in the future as the virus and immunity levels change.

Four cohorts of persons aged ≥18 years were assembled via linkages of records from electronic laboratory reporting databases and state-specific immunization information systems.^† Persons were classified based on whether they had had a laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by March 1, 2021 (i.e., previous COVID-19 diagnosis)^§; had received at least the primary COVID-19 vaccination series^¶ by May 16, 2021; had a previous COVID-19 diagnosis and were fully vaccinated**; or had neither received a previous COVID-19 diagnosis by March 1 nor received a first COVID-19 vaccine dose by the end of the analysis period. The size of the unvaccinated group without a previous diagnosis was derived by subtracting the observed groups from U.S. Census estimates.^†† To maintain each defined cohort, persons who received a COVID-19 diagnosis during March 1–May 30, 2021, or who died before May 30, 2021, were excluded (to maintain eligibility for incident cases for all cohorts on May 30, 2021),^§§ as were persons who received a first vaccine dose during May 30–November 20, 2021. During May 30–November 20, 2021, incident cases were defined using a positive nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) result from the California COVID-19 Reporting System (CCRS) or a positive NAAT or antigen test result from the New York Electronic Clinical Laboratory Reporting System. In California, person-level hospitalization data from CCRS and supplementary hospitalization reports were used to identify COVID-19–associated hospitalizations. A lifetable method was used to calculate hazard rates (average daily cases during a 7-day interval or hospitalizations over a 14-day interval), hazard ratios, and 95% CIs for each cohort. Rates were age-adjusted to 2000 U.S. Census data using direct standardization.^¶¶ Supplementary analyses stratified case rates by timing of previous diagnoses and primary series vaccine product. SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute) and R (version 4.0.4; The R Foundation) were used to conduct all analyses. Institutional review boards (IRBs) in both states determined this surveillance activity to be necessary for public health work, and therefore, it did not require IRB review.

Approximately three quarters of adults from California (71.2%) and New York (72.2%) included in this analysis were vaccinated and did not have a previous COVID-19 diagnosis; however, 18.0% of California residents and 18.4% of New York residents were unvaccinated with no previous COVID-19 diagnosis (Table 1). In both states, 4.5% of persons were vaccinated and had a previous COVID-19 diagnosis; 6.3% in California and 4.9% in New York were unvaccinated with a previous diagnosis. Among 1,108,600 incident COVID-19 cases in these cohorts (752,781 in California and 355,819 in New York), the median intervals from vaccination or previous COVID-19 diagnosis to incident diagnosis were slightly shorter in California (138–150 days) than in New York (162–171 days).

Before the Delta variant became predominant in each state’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services region (June 26 in Region 9 [California] and July 3 in Region 2 [New York]),*** the highest incidence was among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis; during this time, case rates were relatively low among the three groups with either previous infection or vaccination and were lowest among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis (Supplementary Figure 1, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/113253) (Supplementary Figure 2, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/113253). During the week beginning May 30, 2021, compared with COVID-19 case rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, COVID-19 case rates were 19.9-fold (California) and 18.4-fold (New York) lower among vaccinated persons without a previous diagnosis; rates were 7.2-fold (California) and 9.9-fold (New York) lower among unvaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis and 9.6-fold (California) and 8.5-fold (New York) lower among vaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis (Table 2).

As the Delta variant prevalence increased to >95% (97% in Region 9 and 98% in Region 2 on August 1), rates increased more rapidly among the vaccinated group with no previous COVID-19 diagnosis than among both the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis (Supplementary Figure 1, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/113253) (Supplementary Figure 2, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/113253). For example, during the week of October 3, compared with rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, rates among vaccinated persons without a previous diagnosis were 6.2-fold lower (95% CI = 6.0–6.4) in California and 4.5-fold lower (95% CI = 4.3–4.7) in New York (Table 2). Further, rates among unvaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis were 29-fold lower (95% CI = 25.0–33.1) than rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis in California and 14.7-fold lower (95% CI = 12.6–16.9) in New York. Rates among vaccinated persons who had had COVID-19 were 32.5-fold lower (95% CI = 27.5–37.6) than rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis in California and 19.8-fold lower (95% CI = 16.2–23.5) in New York. Rates among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis were consistently higher than rates among unvaccinated persons with a history of COVID-19 (3.1-fold higher [95% CI = 2.6–3.7] in California and 1.9-fold higher [95% CI = 1.5–2.3] in New York) and rates among vaccinated persons with a history of COVID-19 (3.6-fold higher [95% CI = 2.9–4.3] in California and 2.8-fold higher [95% CI = 2.1–3.4] in New York).

COVID-19 hospitalization rates in California were always highest among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis (Table 2) (Figure). In the pre-Delta period during June 13–June 26, for example, compared with hospitalization rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization rates were 27.7-fold lower (95% CI = 22.4–33.0) among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, 6.0-fold lower (95% CI = 3.3–8.7) among unvaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, and 7.1-fold lower (95% CI = 4.0–10.3) among vaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis. However, this pattern also shifted as the Delta variant became predominant. During October 3–16, compared with hospitalization rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization rates were 19.8-fold lower (95% CI = 18.2–21.4) among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, 55.3-fold lower (95% CI = 27.3–83.3) among unvaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, and 57.5-fold lower (95% CI = 29.2–85.8) among vaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis.

Among the two cohorts with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, no consistent incidence gradient by time since the previous diagnosis was observed (Supplementary Figure 3, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/113253). When the vaccinated cohorts were stratified by the vaccine product received, among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, the highest incidences were observed among persons receiving the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), followed by Pfizer-BioNTech, then Moderna vaccines (Supplementary Figure 4, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/113253). No pattern by product was observed among vaccinated persons with a previous COVID-19 diagnosis.”