The government’s top infectious disease expert seemed stumped by a question from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta during a Thursday broadcast.
Gupta asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, for his take on recent report from Israeli medical researchers that determined people who have Covid-19 antibodies from being infected have better protection against the Delta variant that people who received vaccinations.
The broadcast medical expert told Dr. Fauci he gets calls from people all the time. “People say, ‘I’ve already had Covid; I’m protected,'” Gupta said. “And, now the study says maybe even more protected than with the vaccine alone.”
When Gupta asked Fauci if he should tell those people they should also get vaccinated, Fauci did a little verbal two-step. “You know, that’s a really good point, Sanjay,” Fauci replied. “I don’t have a really firm answer for you on that.”
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Gupta was referring to a recent report published by Israeli researchers with KSM, Maccabi Healthcare Services Research and Innovation Center.
“This study demonstrated that natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose vaccine-induced immunity,” the authors wrote.
Researchers noted that people who were both previously infected with Covid-19 and given a single dose of the vaccine gained additional protection against the Delta variant.
Overall, 673,676 MHS members (16 years and older) were eligible for the study group of fully vaccinated individuals; 62,883 were eligible for the study group of unvaccinated, previously infected individuals; and 42,099 individuals were eligible for the study group of previously infected people who got a single-dose of vaccine afterwards.
Authors of the report said their analysis demonstrated that vaccinated people were 13 times more likely to get a breakthrough infection of the Delta variant than those who had natural immunity from a previous infection. They said the data compared people during January and February 2021.
A booster shot gives previously infect Covid-19 individuals extra protection, said the authors.
“The one thing the paper from Israel didn’t tell you is whether or not, as high as the protection is with natural infection, what’s its durability compared to the durability of a vaccine?” Fauci said. “So it is conceivable that you got infected, you’re protected, but you may not be protected for an indefinite period of time.”
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