We already know that people overestimate the risks of Covid. A new survey has found that a sizeable majority of Democrats wrongly believe the vaccines protect better against infection than natural immunity.
A fourth study has found that natural immunity protects better against infection than the vaccines. Indian researchers estimated the protective effect of natural immunity to be 86%; vaccine effectiveness was only 32%.
The fact that Omicron is not able to push Delta out completely, combined with the as-yet muted spike in positivity, is further evidence that natural immunity is holding Omicron off to a similar degree to Delta.
Can you have too many vaccinations? An ex-academic scientist tackles this question. He argues that, given the risks of post-vaccination autoimmune response, it's foolhardy to vaccinate those who've already had Covid.
Pressurising parents with the threat of closing schools to vaccinate their children when the safety profile is highly uncertain and the disease is no real threat to them is not a medically or ethically sound policy.
Yet another study has found that natural immunity provides better protection against infection than the vaccines, and that vaccine effectiveness against infection wanes rapidly, beginning a few weeks after vaccination.
A second large Israeli study has found that natural immunity provides better protection against infection than the Pfizer vaccine. Adjusting for several factors, infections were six times higher among the vaccinated.
Numerous studies have found that vaccine side effects are more common in those who've already had Covid. Such people (of whom there are many) not only face lower benefits from vaccination; they also face higher costs.
Moderna boss Stephane Bancel says he expects a "material drop" in vaccine efficacy against Omicron. But new research papers in the NEJM and Lancet show the enduring power of natural immunity.
A new study looks at vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes among people who had Covid. While effectiveness against death was marked in those under 60, it was small and non-significant in those over 60.
