According to University Health’s Director of Hospital Epidemiology, Dr. Jason Bowling, antibodies from a previous COVID-19 infection will not protect you against the delta variant.

“What we’ve learned over the last few months is that people that have had prior infection with COVID-19 and then developed natural immunity–antibodies from natural infection–unfortunately are not protected against this new delta variant, which is causing the number of cases we’re seeing now,” Bowling said in a video interview released Friday. “Prior infection, unfortunately, does not confer good protection against this delta variant.”

“The prior strain was different than this current strain, which is more virulent, transmits more readily, and so you will not be protected with natural infection alone,” Bowling said.