However, the CDC estimates that only a fraction of the total Covid-19 cases in the USA have actually been reported. The latest estimates show that the total number of cases may have exceeded 83 million by December. Along with the nearly 5 million cases reported in January, some 88 million people – more than a quarter of the United States’ population – may actually be protected from Covid-19 after recovering from the infection.
Experts say people who have already taken Covid-19 should still get the vaccine. The immunity you get from contracting Covid-19 lasts for a while, but the nature of the vaccine should provide longer immunity, according to CNN’s chief medical officer, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
CNN’s estimates of current protection against Covid-19 do not take into account any potential overlap between individuals who can be counted in both the number of people who were vaccinated and those who were infected.
With at least one dose of vaccine administered to about 6% of the population and potentially a quarter of the immune population after infection, up to about 1 in 3 people in the U.S. may be at least partially protected against Covid-19.
That said, the trial data shows that a dose of the vaccine offers only partial coverage. And while some studies have found that immunity to Covid-19 can last for years after infection, others have found that it can decrease after just five months.