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Natural Immunity after COVID
Good Morning -
My husband and I both experienced COVID 19 in January 2020. Since then I/we have continued to get antibody testing about every 3 months, and still test positive. We feel we have the very best protection with Natural immunity and would like to know if there is any clinical research currently being performed by the Mayo Clinic? As well as, what the clinics actual position is on the matter? And if no research is being performed by Mayo... simply - Why not?
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Hi @jackiewsellsre, indeed this is an area that is closely monitored by Mayo Clinic and research continues in all aspects of COVID, including vaccination, immunity, therapies, and post-COVID recovery.
Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases physician and researcher at Mayo Clinic addressed some of your questions in a Q&A podcast published just last week.
https://youtu.be/qQiCAdhBU-g
Here's an excerpt from the beginning of the video interview:
"Q: How does immunity through previous infection compare with immunity through vaccination? Can they be compared? Should they still get vaccinated?
Dr. Poland: You know, the simple answer to that one is, absolutely they should get vaccinated. We've got a number of observational studies that show that people who have been infected but don't get immunized have higher rates of breakthrough disease that those who were previously infected and do get immunized. The question is, how many doses do they need? Currently, the recommendation is two doses. But a lot of the data that I have seen suggests that with one dose post vaccination, they develop really remarkable levels of antibody. Now, that would be for somebody with an otherwise normal immune system. The problem is that a lot of people who developed [COVID] disease initially developed it for a reason. Not everybody, but it might be that they're elderly, have underlying medical problems or something else. So, it's really a decision to be guided by your and your care provider."
Follow all of Dr. Poland's weekly podcasts here:
- Mayo Clinic Podcasts: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/podcasts/
Stay safe.