A recent study has confirmed that vaccinations are providing better protection against the COVID-19 virus than immunity achieved from a prior infection. The study has been conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer more evidence about the effectiveness of the vaccines.

In the study, the CDC has concluded that unvaccinated people who had been infected months earlier were five times more at risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease than fully vaccinated people who did not have a prior infection.

Dr Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who was not part of the study, expressed confidence in the results of the study.

“These data show, pretty strongly, that the vaccines are more protective against symptomatic COVID-19," Dr Saag said.

The study analyzed data from approximately 190 hospitals in nine states. The researchers studied about 7,000 adult patients who were hospitalized in 2021 with respiratory illnesses or symptoms similar to those infected with COVID-19.

As per the findings, about 6,000 of the participants were fully vaccinated against COVDI-19 with either Moderna or Pfizer vaccinations at least three to six months before being hospitalized. Meanwhile, the rest 1,000 were unvaccinated but had been infected with COVID-19 three to six months prior to the new illness.

Significantly, about five percent of the vaccinated patients tested positive for the COVID-19 disease compared to nine percent in the group of unvaccinated people. The researchers also reviewed other factors including age and circulation of the virus in different areas to understand the risk posed by COVID-19 for the unvaccinated group.

The study also reflected on some previously conducted researches, including studies that found higher levels of antibodies to fight the infection in vaccinated patients.

Calling the research well done and convicting, Dr Saag said it is important information for parents at the present time when the government is gearing up to expand vaccination efforts to inoculate children.

“There have been many people who have advocated, ‘Well, let’s just let the kids get infected.’ I think these data support the notion that the vaccines work better in general, and likely work better for 5- to 11-year-olds,” Saag said.