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Waves of Covid-19 infections continue to spike around the world, even after the two-year pandemic, many due to the highly infectious Omicron variant. To counteract the pandemics, a reported 11.3 billion doses of the vaccine have been dispensed (John Hopkins). If you've been infected, then been vaccinated, or had the vaccination, and then had Covid, how does that affect your immunity?

Matt Fox, Professor of Global Health at Boston University, says that recent studies show that combination of infection and the vaccine leads to greater protection against future infection, and the severity of infection, than just the infection or the vaccine by themselves. However, he warns that Covid can lead to severe disease so getting the vaccine first is ideal and even with hybrid protection, a subsequent infection can still lead to serious symptoms and long Covid.

"The two of them together [the vaccine and infection] are providing more benefit than one alone."

Photo: A woman stands in the middle of a crowded market Credit: Getty Images

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