A brand new study out of Denmark suggests COVID-19 vaccines provide good safety towards reinfection in individuals who had already acquired the virus, typically as much as 9 months. The research, which checked out safety supplied through the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron waves is revealed in PLOS Drugs.
The research inhabitants included greater than 700,000 individuals with prior SARS-CoV-2 an infection who have been recognized in nationwide Danish registries from Jan 1, 2020, to Jan 31, 2022. The authors estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) for various variant intervals, and by time since vaccination utilizing unvaccinated residents because the reference.
VE towards reinfection following any COVID-19 vaccine sort administered in Denmark peaked at 71% (95% confidence interval [CI], -Inf to 100%) at 104 days or extra after vaccination through the Alpha interval, 94% (95% CI, 92% to 96%) 14 to 43 days after vaccination through the Delta interval, and 60% (95% CI, 58% to 62%) 14 to 43 days after vaccination through the Omicron interval.
“Regardless that vaccination appears to guard to a lesser diploma towards reinfection with the Omicron variant, these findings are of public well being relevance, as they present that beforehand contaminated people nonetheless profit from COVID-19 vaccination in all three variant intervals,” the authors stated.
New variants make VE estimates slippery
In an e mail to CIDRAP Information, first research writer Katrine Finderup Nielsen, MS, stated the research purposefully excluded vaccine recipients who have been contaminated lower than 90 days earlier than, however didn’t take note of booster doses administered after January 2022.
Gregory Poland, MD, of the Vaccine Analysis Group on the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, stated the research confirms that vaccination provides safety towards reinfection for not less than a number of weeks, however new variants make finding out VE troublesome for researchers.
“The issue is this can be a multi-dimensional matrix that consists of what you bought contaminated with, which vaccines you’ve got had, what number of, how way back, and what’s circulating now,” Poland stated.
He believes {that a} earlier pure an infection with COVID-19 and two vaccine doses imply somebody who’s reinfected may be very unlikely to die and even find yourself within the hospital with a subsequent case, however the threat of growing acute and post-COVID signs is actual.
“The danger of lengthy COVID is 20% to 25%. The danger of issues from acute infections range from 20 to nearly 100 per thousand circumstances,” Poland stated. “Keep in mind, 1 out of 298 People are lifeless from COVID-19.”
Warning earlier than the vacations
Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, chief of Analysis and Training Service at Veterans Affairs St. Louis Well being Care System, has revealed recent studies on reinfections in vaccinated individuals. His message is obvious: “Reinfected persons are nonetheless in danger for issues and lengthy COVID. Reinfections aren’t benign.
“The virus is all the time outpacing and outsmarting us. We do a research on Delta, then Omicron comes out, however what we now see is the hybrid immunity of vaccine-derived immunity and pure an infection will not be an entire protect.”
Al-Aly and Poland each stated their message, although sobering, is vital as People start a 6-week vacation season beginning with Thanksgiving tomorrow.
First, although not foolproof, each beneficial that individuals get all vaccines and boosters on the steered timeline as described by the Facilities of Illness Management and Prevention.
Al-Aly stated he would advise carrying a well-fitted masks throughout vacation journey, and Poland says a correct masks is as very important to individuals as carrying a seatbelt in a automotive. Optimum safety is afforded by carrying a tight-fitting respirator corresponding to an N-95.
“There will likely be individuals who will learn this and they are going to be lifeless or within the hospital earlier than Christmas,” stated Poland. “So we have now to steadiness recognized dangers and recognized advantages, and make selections primarily based on information.”
