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One coronavirus infection wards off another — but only if it’s a similar variant

Infection with a pre-Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant protects against reinfection with a second, although the effect fades almost completely after three years.
  1. McKenzie Prillaman
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Natural immunity induced by infection with SARS-CoV-2 provides a strong shield against reinfection by a pre-Omicron variant for 16 months or longer, according to a study1. This protection against catching the virus dwindles over time, but immunity triggered by previous infection also thwarts the development of severe COVID-19 symptoms — and this safeguard shows no signs of waning.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01914-6

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 15 July 2022: An earlier version of the graphic with this article incorrectly stated the number of months until infection-mediated immunity dwindles to less than 10%.

References

  1. Chemaitelly, H. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.06.22277306 (2022).

  2. Altarawneh, H. N. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 387, 21–34 (2022).

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  3. Hall, V. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 386, 1207–1220 (2022).

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  4. Khoury, D. S. et al. Nature Med. 27, 1205–1211 (2021)

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