NEW DELHI: The durability of immunity post Covid-19 infection or post vaccination is at least around nine months, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general Balram Bhargava said citing scientific evidence from multiple global as well as Indian studies.
Some studies also show a strong response mounted through hybrid immunity developed in those vaccinated after recovery from natural infection, Bhargava said underlining that vaccination is must for better protection even for those who have suffered from the disease.
Stressing on the need to wear a mask, avoid mass gathering and follow Covid-19 protocol even after vaccination, he said vaccine recipients are vulnerable due to intense dynamics of transmission as seen in the case of Omicron. “The transmission of Omicron is three or four times more than the Delta variant. In terms of the precautionary dose, we have to remember one important point — all Covid vaccines are disease-modifying and they do not prevent infection,” Bhargava said.
“If you have had an infection and vaccination, your immune response is more than only infection or vaccination. So the important thing is that vaccination is essential,” Bhargava said.
“There are three studies, two from ICMR and one from Mumbai, on 284 patients, on 755 patients and 244 that immunity persists for up to eight months, sev-en months and six months (respectively) and these are all published data from infection that occurred in 2020, 2021,” he said.
