Both COVID-19 vaccinations and previous coronavirus infections provide some level of protection against the virus. However, a recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that vaccination “significantly enhances” immunity for people previously infected with coronavirus.
Additionally, a series of federal and state-level datasets make it easier to compare immunity from vaccines versus a previous infection of COVID-19.
One measure from the CDC tracks the presence of COVID-19 antibodies present in samples from blood donors. The agency then estimates the “proportion of the population with some presumed protection against infection.” The data is limited. The samples represent most — but not all — of the US, and the CDC says that blood donors may be likelier to be more vaccinated than the overall population.
