Fully-vaccinated people who catch Covid end up with 'super immunity', scientists have claimed.
Oregon Health and Science University experts say the same is also true for people who get infected before getting two jabs.
Academics took blood samples from more than 100 fully-vaccinated volunteers and exposed them against three different strains of coronavirus.
Volunteers with 'hybrid' immunity produced an 'amazingly high' antibody response, tests showed.
Their antibodies were 10 times more potent than proteins made by participants who managed to dodge Covid completely.
Despite the study being carried out before the emergence of Omicron, the authors believe the findings will hold up against the highly-transmissible variant.
And the high levels of protection among those with hybrid immunity could see the virus become a 'mostly mild' infection and bring about the end of the pandemic, the researchers said.
Author Dr Fikadu Tafesse said: 'It makes no difference whether you get infected-and-then-vaccinated, or if you get vaccinated-and-then-a-breakthrough infection.
'In either case, you will get a really, really robust immune response – amazingly high.'
He added: 'The likelihood of getting breakthrough infections is high because there is so much virus around us right now.
'But we position ourselves better by getting vaccinated. And if the virus comes, we'll get a milder case and end up with this super immunity.'
Fully-vaccinated people who caught Covid (shown in graphic, left) before or after they were jabbed end up with 'super immunity', scientists at Oregon Health and Science University claimed. Pictured right: vaccine stock image
The scientists took blood samples from 104 university employees who were double-jabbed with Pfizer.
Volunteers were divided into three groups based on their previous infection status. Forty-two participants had never tested positive.
All of the others had either caught the coronavirus before being vaccinated, or were infected after getting their two jabs.
