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wealhtheow t1_j8e3yof wrote

Reply to comment by JurassicCotyledon in A study in the US has found, compared to unvaccinated people, protection from the risk of dying from COVID during the six-month omicron wave for folks who had two doses of an mRNA vaccine was 42% for 40- to 59-year-olds; 27% for 60- to 79-year-olds; and 46% for people 80 and older. by Wagamaga

For Covid, infection-generated immunity wanes over time just as vaccine-induced immunity does. Regardless of what taught a person's immune system to recognize and fight SARS-CoV-2, it doesn't last. This has not only been documented from many data sources from many countries (ex nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2118946 ) it's also apparent in anyone's personal life. I think at this point we all know someone who's gotten covid multiple times.

It's also clear that avoiding infection is important not just to avoid death, but to avoid the negative health effects of multiple bouts of covid. nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02051-3

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JurassicCotyledon t1_j8e86b1 wrote

I’ve never suggested that natural immunity doesn’t wane over time - although it does offer a more broad and durable immunity, meaning if you are exposed to subsequent variants, your immune response has a greater chance at offering protection, and your immune memory can be updated to recognize the contemporary variants in circulation.

Even if your immunity wanes, your lingering immune memory will allow your body to mount a more targeted immune response when compared to a first exposure to a novel virus.

We’re not talking about blocking infection. We’re talking about reducing death and serious illness.

You can attempt to avoid infection, although it’s unrealistic to effectively prevent while living a normal healthy life. Your best bet is to maximize your natural immune health, and focus on protecting the most vulnerable in society.

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