I would agree. I think it's more curiosity than anything else as we look towards the future. But in the current "uncertain" state, doesn't seem like there's much downside. So, I guess your point is if it doesn't actually impact your behavior/decision-making at this point, what's the difference? I could buy that for now, but think continuing to gather information so people can be informed is always a good thing.
If there were no boost to immunity from getting the vaccine after having contracted COVID (all evidence I've seen suggests otherwise, I'm just explaining why someone would ask the question if they were unfamiliar with the evidence), then people who got COVID would be better off not getting the vaccine (because they would be subjecting themselves to the risk of rare but real adverse reactions/side effects for no benefit).
Of course, given that the information we've seen seems to indicate that "both" leads to stronger immunity, and that we know that regardless of whether you contracted COVID or got vaccinated the immunity is not long lasting, all signs point towards "just go get vaccinated."
True, not many on this board.
But it is the strategy of many people we know. Two guys I’ve played poker with for years extolled natural immunity and refused vaccination. Idiot one was a healthy, 40-something yo successful lawyer. In general an incredibly sharp guy but not about pandemics apparently. Not only did he refuse the shots he also decided to take his unvaccinated self to vacation in Florida. And big surprise…. Anyway he got a pretty bad case, sick as a dog for three weeks but never hospitalized. I don’t know if he has residual effects but he’s back to playing poker, I'm told.
Natural immunity Idiot 2, also in his 40’s but a former heavy drinker. Got the virus 6 weeks ago, was hospitalized, took a turn for the worse. He was on deaths door and docs decided to put him on a ventilator. He refused and that may have been one of his very few good decisions in the last year (I won’t tell you about the jet ski thing, except it was really bad). I’m told he is still recovering but out of the the hospital.
I’m happy he is going to make it. But why, oh why did he fall for the all natural immunity crap?
And of course some countries have chosen the same strategy as Idiots 1 & 2.
Just seems like a shot (if available) would be easier. Not that anyone here is arguing against that. I’m just venting.
It was definitely a thing earlier in the pandemic, people were likening it to chicken pox and having "COVID parties" (although I don't know how common that was vs. it just making good clickbait and getting played up for that reason).
Interesting story. I wonder if any studies have examined the risks of outbreaks in highly vaccinated communities based on the distribution of the unvaccinated within that community. It makes intuitive sense that in most communities the unvaccinated aren’t evenly distributed but are clustered together in subgroups of families, schools, churches, and even workplaces. It also makes sense to me that the less evenly distributed the unvaccinated are in a particular community, the more vulnerable that community is to large spikes in cases, hospitalization, and death. But, I haven’t seen any empirical evidence one way or the other.
I saw a study recently that said these who got Covid and then got both vaccines appear to be what they called 'super-immune,' meaning, from what they said, that they have outstanding protection against the Delta variant and against all other variants that have circulated or are currently circulating. IIRC I think they also did mathematical modeling and suggested that these people would also have broad immunity against variants that are 'likely to arise' in the near future.
Sorry, can't remember exactly where I saw ut and right now I am on vacation so I can't look it up.
Here's an article that cites several studies, including a preprint that sounds like what you saw:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...nated-rcna1974
It does seem there's growing evidence that those infected with the virus previously may be as protected or moreso than those who are vaccinated. Here's an article from today's Washington Post that really does a good job of summarizing some of the points my friend has been making
That's what happened to my daughter. She received the first Pfizer shot on a Thursday, was exposed by a close friend who had just contracted the virus (after not being vaccinated) on a Sunday, and then started getting symptoms the following Tuesday. She tested positive a few days later. She was sick with what was like a bad flu for almost a week then got back on her feet. A couple of weeks after she got her second Pfizer shot. I'm assuming she's now in the best shape of everyone in our family.
I don’t entirely agree with the author’s statement that vaccine doses were wasted on those who were previously infected. For those with long haul covid, the vaccine appears to help.
One of my colleagues is an author on the Wash U study that is cited. A friend asked me about getting vaccinated after having covid and I wanted to give the best possible answer, so I asked him. His response was that it doesn’t hurt anything and provides additional insurance.