Those who received no COVID-19 vaccine were less likely to become reinfected.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a peer-reviewed medical journal, published a study from Iceland earlier this month revealing that the likelihood of being reinfected with coronavirus increases as the number of COVID-19 vaccines taken increases.
- In other words, the more COVID vaccines you take, the more likely it is you will be reinfected with the virus.
- The study also showed that those who received zero COVID vaccines were less likely to be reinfected. The fewer vaccines you take, the less likely you will be reinfected.
- The JAMA publication reads: “The probability of reinfection increased with time from the initial infection (odds ratio of 18 months vs 3 months, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.18-2.08) (Figure) and was higher among persons who had received 2 or more doses compared with 1 dose or less of vaccine (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.13-1.78).”
- The study authors noted their surprise in finding that higher vaccination rates were associated with a higher probability of reinfection: “Surprisingly, 2 or more doses of vaccine were associated with a slightly higher probability of reinfection compared with 1 dose or less,” they wrote.
- The paper was pointed out on Twitter by doctors Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford University, and Peter McCullough, who served as vice chief of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center and a professor at Texas A&M University.
STUDY LIMITATIONS:
- The authors of the JAMA paper noted the study’s limitations: “This finding should be interpreted with caution because of limitations of our study, which include the inability to adjust for the complex relationships among prior infection, vaccine eligibility, and underlying conditions,” they said.
- “Importantly, by December 1, 2021, all persons aged 12 years and older were eligible for 2 or more vaccine doses free of charge, and 71.1% of the Icelandic population had been vaccinated, compared with only 25.5% of our cohort of previously infected persons,” the authors went on to note. “Our results suggest that reinfection is more common than previously thought. Now the key question is whether infection with the Omicron variant will produce better protection against Omicron reinfection, compared with other variants.”
READ THE JAMA PUBLICATION:
BACKGROUND:
- Earlier this month, American Faith reported how Hong Kong suffered high COVID infection rates despite the region’s population being highly vaccinated.
- We also reported last month how New Zealand experienced a “record level” of COVID deaths despite the country’s population being 84% vaccinated.
- We reported how coronavirus deaths were “rising fast” in Los Angeles despite 81% of the city’s population being fully vaccinated. The city’s COVID hospitalizations were also up.
- We reported how the CDC designated more than a third of U.S. counties as being in the COVID “red” zone, meaning there are high levels of community transmission and hospitalization in those areas, despite 79.1% of the U.S. population being vaccinated, 67.6% fully.
- And we reported how Ghana, on the other hand, has a very low vaccination rate and enjoys a very low COVID infection rate.
