As the number of cases of COVID-19 infection is rising, everyone is concerned about their immunity. This is a genuine concern at this point in time as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 is spreading much faster than all previous variants. Considering this, it is very important to make sure that your immunity remains strong. Talking about this, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director-general Balram Bhargav recently said that the durability of immunity is around nine months – both after vaccination and COVID-19 infection. Citing scientific evidence, Bhargava said that there are studies that have shown ‘strong response mounted through hybrid immunity developed in those who have been inoculated after recovery from natural infection.’
There are three studies that have been conducted in India and they all showed that the immunity persists for anything between 6 months to 8 months. “Overall, there are studies to show that immunity of our body stays for 8 to 13 months post infections and therefore we have taken it as around 9 months,” the ICMR director-general said.
Do vaccines prevent infection?
There are many people who still believe that getting vaccinated mean that they are not going to be infected with the coronavirus. However, this is not the case. All vaccines are primarily disease-modifying.
“All vaccines, whether they are from India or any other country in the world, are primarily disease-modifying. COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalisation, and death,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention that around 90 per cent of the adult population in India has received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over 63 per cent of those eligible have been vaccinated with both doses of vaccines.
However, we still need to wear a mask and follow all COVID-19 appropriate protocols as we all are vulnerable due to intense dynamics of transmission in Omicron-related cases.