COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mask mandates are dropping in more places, which is a sign we’re moving in the right direction.
Other protective measures like getting a vaccine or booster might not be top of mind.
Some social media users are claiming if you just had COVID-19, you don’t need a vaccine anyway.
10TV’s Lindsey Mills shares how our experts verify that’s not true.
THE CLAIM
A COVID-19 infection gives you natural immunity, so you don’t need to get vaccinated.
THE ANSWER
While it's true that you do get immunity from a COVID infection, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to get vaccinated.
Getting vaccinated may offer even better protection to those who have already been sick, according to research from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
OUR SOURCES
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Dr. Joe Gastaldo from OhioHealth
- Dr. Jessica Shepherd of Verywell Health
WHAT WE FOUND
According to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, natural immunity is antibody protection your body creates against a germ once you’ve been infected with it. Vaccine-induced immunity is what we get by being fully vaccinated.
“Yes, it is true when people do have COVID-19 most people do develop some immunity. But that immunity is not black and white. And it's really dependent upon someone's severity of illness and their age,” said Dr. Gastaldo.
Our experts say getting vaccinated is the safest way to get that immunity.
“There are many variables that actually factor into how a person might respond when they get the disease without being vaccinated. That can be the age of the person risk factors, the severity of the strain that they get,” said Dr. Shepherd.
“Another thing that we're learning more and more about is immunity from one variant is very different than immunity from different variants as far as what type of protection it gives you. So just to make a generic statement that saying that you've had COVID, and you don't need a vaccine is a dangerous thing to do,” said Dr. Gastaldo.
And here’s more incentive to get vaccinated if you’ve already had it. Research from a large Johns Hopkins study on natural immunity shows antibody levels stay higher for a longer period of time in people who were infected by the virus and then got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Have something you’d like us to verify? Send us an email to verify@10TV.com.