Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

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
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

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.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

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).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links