The above statement was conjecture on my part. I, too, came up empty handed after doing some research following the posting of your question.Can you please link me to any source that suggests this is indeed the case? I've been looking to an answer to this precise question (whether vaccinated people who get breakthrough cases develop natural immunity on top of their vaccinated immunity) and I have yet to locate a scientific answer anywhere.
I presume antibody levels among the following distinct groups will need to be tracked over time to evaluate differences:
- Those who are/were unvaccinated and were infected with COVID
- Those who are vaccinated and have not been infected with COVID
- Those who are vaccinated and suffered a "breakthrough" case of COVID post vaccination.
- Those who suffered from COVID and following cessation of symptoms received the vaccine.
Because existence of the third group is a relatively recent phenomenon, and because the third group is by far the smallest of the four at this point in time, my guess is several more months of data will be needed to draw any firm conclusions.
What I do know is this - those who have gotten COVID and afterward received the vaccine have higher antibody levels than those who have gotten COVID and have chosen not be vaccinated.