As COVID-19 case numbers rose during the UK winter, one big question was on many people’s lips: will I be protected if I’ve been infected and have had a full course of COVID-19 jabs?
This combination of vaccination and previous infection produces hybrid immunity and appears to generate more lasting protection than either vaccination or infection alone.
Protection from severe COVID-19 isn’t the same as preventing infection. If you’ve had COVID-19 and all your jabs within the past 12 months, then you’re probably quite well protected from severe disease.
One year after the last infection or booster jab, protection against severe disease wanes, but persists to some degree. Overall protection from infection is less clear-cut.
We know that, for most people, hybrid immunity provides good, but not total, protection from infection for about eight months, though effectiveness is highest in the three months following an infection or booster jab.
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Protection also varies between individuals, and depends on the variant with which they were infected, and the type of vaccines they had. Duration of protection is also affected by virus evolution – typically, the more the virus changes, the faster the protection wanes.
We also know that vaccination reduces the likelihood of getting long COVID after an infection, but is only partly effective – and we don’t know how long this protection lasts. Previous infection seems to actually increase the risk of long COVID.
At present, we don’t know how well – or if – hybrid immunity protects against Long COVID.
COVID-19 jabs are still one of the most effective forms of prevention, but no single measure is perfect. Best combine the tried-and-true measures: vaccination, mask-wearing and avoiding crowded indoor spaces.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Simon Foster, via email) 'I’ve had COVID, plus all the vaccines – how long will my immunity last?'
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