How Does Getting a Breakthrough Covid Case Affect My Immunity? - The New York Times

As Omicron cases skyrocket, more vaccinated people may get “hybrid” immunity after a breakthrough infection.

D’Ottavio, who had been fully vaccinated and boosted before getting infected.

“We all feel like superheroes,” she said about her friends who have had breakthrough infections.

But among the vaccinated and boosted, getting infected with the Omicron variant also appears to be contributing to a psychological shift, as people realize they have probably gained at least a short-term natural boost to their immune system.

Scientists call it “hybrid immunity,” which results from the combined protection of pre-existing vaccine antibodies and natural antibodies from a breakthrough infection.

Experts also caution against trying to get infected on purpose as a way to gain hybrid immunity.

“I really worry that people will intentionally get infected so they can get to this ‘new normal’,” said Dr.

The immunity boost of a natural infection may be akin to getting a fourth dose of vaccine, said Dr.

Hybrid immunity may also occur if you get infected before getting vaccinated or a booster.

The effect appears to be even more pronounced in people who’ve been both vaccinated and infected.

A recent study showed that vaccinated health care workers with breakthrough infections had significantly higher levels of antibodies compared to a vaccinated control group that had not had natural infections.

Fikadu Tafesse, an immunologist at Oregon Health & Science University who helped conduct the research, said that although the study was done before the Omicron wave, the findings suggest a drastically elevated level of protection after a breakthrough infection.

“Super immunity is maybe an overreach, but we know the most recent studies show there’s hybrid immunity, really due to immune players known as memory B cells,” said Anita Gupta, an adjunct assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

In the short term, recovering from a breakthrough infection means you’re “almost certainly” protected against severe disease after both vaccination and infection, said Dr.

But there isn’t enough data yet on how much hybrid immunity protects you from a mild or asymptomatic breakthrough infection or from spreading the virus to others.

Some vaccinated people who previously were infected with the Delta variant, for example, have been reinfected with Omicron, said Jennifer Gommerman, an immunologist at the University of Toronto.

The number of Americans getting infected every day remains staggeringly high, and it’s unknown whether the population is building enough natural immunity to help us reach the day when the virus becomes a manageable part of daily life.

But for many of those who are young, vaccinated and otherwise healthy, recovery from a breakthrough infection can bring some peace of mind.

For at least the first three months following a breakthrough infection, if you are not at high risk for severe disease, you should feel very confident about your level of protection, particularly if you are boosted, said Ashish K.

But other experts warned that even if you have hybrid immunity, your risk of getting infected again — and potentially spreading the virus to others — isn’t zero.