> Well, isn't the most OBVIOUS thing to notice the fact that this study proves that the vaccines are not worth getting Absolutely not. The point is that immuni

> Well, isn't the most OBVIOUS thing to notice the fact that this study proves that the vaccines are not worth getting Absolutely not. The point is that immunity from natural infection is as good or possibly better than immunity from vaccination, but the protection of both is very strong and the cost of getting that immunity is not remotely similar. Natural immunity, while potentially stronger, also has a much, much greater chance of causing hospitalization, death, or negative long term health outcomes than vaccination for those with no pre-existing immunity. There would be orders of magnitude more people getting severely ill and dying were we to just count on everyone getting sick naturally, rather than utilizing vaccination. What this means is that there is a potentially good argument for not requiring those who have gotten sick naturally to get vaccinated. It also has implications for vaccine boosters and variant specific vaccines. If vaccine protection against hospitalization and death remains strong over time, then even if protection against infection wanes, like is already being seen, there isn't much of a point for giving boosters. Instead, initial vaccination can be seen as a way of priming the immune system for Covid, allowing individuals to eventually acquire natural immunity without the naked risk associated with infection up until this point. In either case, the vaccines are crucial.