Omicron Health Research: According to a recent study conducted in London, those who received the vaccine and contracted the older Omicron subvariants are four times more protected against the new variations like BA.5 than those who received the vaccine but were not exposed to them.

As per the study, people who have received vaccinations continue to impart immunity against variations recognised for their capacity to elude the immune response despite having previously experienced infection (the so-called "hybrid immunity").

According to lead author Luis Graca from the University of Lisbon, "vaccinated people who were infected by Omicron sub-variants BA.1 and BA.2 have protection against infection with subvariant BA.5, in circulation since June, that is about four times greater than vaccine-protected people who were not infected at any time.

The author said, "Infections in 2020 and 2021 that occurred through infection with earlier SARS-CoV-2 virus variants (ancestral lineage, Alpha and Delta variants) also confer protection against infection for the more recent Omicron variant, although this protection is not as high as that of individuals infected with the BA.1 and BA.2 variants, at the beginning of 2022.

The scientists obtained the national register of Covid-19 cases in Portugal for the study, which was then published in the New England Journal of Medicine journal.

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