Natural Immunity exists and should be acknowledged in policy NOW

“herd immunity… means that enough people in a community are protected from getting a disease because they’ve ALREADY HAD THE DISEASE or because they’ve been vaccinated.” -@CDCgov

Natural Immunity exists and should be acknowledged in policy NOW. pic.twitter.com/IOm8Quiwnk — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 16, 2021

The Washington Post reports, "It’s okay to have an incorrect scientific hypothesis. But when new data proves it wrong, you have to adapt. Unfortunately, many elected leaders and public health officials have held on far too long to the hypothesis that natural immunity offers unreliable protection against covid-19 — a contention that is being rapidly debunked by science.

More than 15 studies have demonstrated the power of immunity acquired by previously having the virus. A 700,000-person study from Israel two weeks ago found that those who had experienced prior infections were 27 times less likely to get a second symptomatic covid infection than those who were vaccinated. This affirmed a June Cleveland Clinic study of health-care workers (who are often exposed to the virus), in which none who had previously tested positive for the coronavirus got reinfected. The study authors concluded that “individuals who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection are unlikely to benefit from covid-19 vaccination.” And in May, a Washington University study found that even a mild covid infection resulted in long-lasting immunity.

We are survivors of the virus. We are at least 100 million in the United States.

According to multiple studies, we are less likely to contract (and spread) the virus than those who were never infected but are now vaccinated. Leave us be. Be gone with your unscientific mandates. — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 16, 2021

So, the emerging science suggests that natural immunity is as good as or better than vaccine-induced immunity. That’s why it’s so frustrating that the Biden administration has repeatedly argued that immunity conferred by vaccines is preferable to immunity caused by natural infection... That rigid adherence to an outdated theory is also reflected in President Biden’s recent announcement that large companies must require their employees to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing, regardless of whether they previously had the virus."