© Xinhua
CHINA-GUANGDONG-GUANGZHOU-COVID-19 VACCINE-BOOSTER SHOT (CN)
NEW YORK (77WABC/AP) – Is natural immunity better than a COVID-19 vaccine? It depends.
A new CDC report states a prior case of COVID-19 protected people from infection better than vaccinations did during the delta wave last summer and fall. The findings were published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Still, experts say vaccines remain the safest way to protect against the worse side effects of contracting COVID.
An Israeli hospital on Monday said preliminary research indicates a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine provides only limited defense against the omicron variant that is raging around the world.
Sheba Hospital last month began administering a fourth vaccine to more than 270 medical workers — 154 who received a Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and 120 others who received Moderna’s. All had previously been vaccinated three times with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine.
The clinical trial found that both groups showed increases in antibodies “slightly higher” than following the third vaccine last year. But it said the increased antibodies did not prevent the spread of omicron.
“Despite increased antibody levels, the fourth vaccine only offers a partial defense against the virus,” said Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the hospital’s infection disease unit. “The vaccines, which were more effective against previous variants, offer less protection versus omicron.”
