Two vaccines and infection give 90pc protection for over a year

TWO vaccines and a previous infection provide 20 per cent more protection compared with recovering from the virus alone, a government study suggests.

The Siren study, led by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and funded by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), aims to understand how long immunity lasts from prior infection.

The findings, which are not yet peer reviewed, show two doses of a Covid vaccine on top of a prior infection “significantly reduce” both symptomatic and asymptomatic Covid infection, compared with just previous infection.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor of the UKHSA, who led the study, shared the findings after the debate around protection from prior infection was raised by Dr Steve James, a consultant anaesthetist at King’s College Hospital, London.

Dr James told Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, during a televised visit to the hospital that “the science is not strong enough” to warrant mandatory jabs for front-line NHS workers, and that he had acquired immunity through infection.

From April, Covid vaccinations are mandatory for front-line NHS workers.

The study shows that those who are double jabbed have significantly more protection a year after infection.

More than 35,000 healthcare workers were tracked for the Siren study between December 2020 and September 2021.

Unvaccinated people who had Covid developed 85 per cent protection against infection three to nine months later, but this dropped to 73 per cent protection more than 15 months after infection.

However, double vaccinated people who had tested positive three to nine months previously had 91 per cent protection, and more than 15 months after infection they still had more than 90 per cent protection.

Separately, the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine said they encourage all members and other NHS staff to take up the offer of a vaccine.

“We note that the overwhelming majority of our members have been vaccinated regardless of prior infection, in line with the scientific evidence,” the two bodies said this week.

“Collectively, we need to listen to and acknowledge the concerns of those healthcare workers who have chosen so far not to be vaccinated, so that they are supported to make the best health choices for their patients, their families and themselves.”