The Lancet has just published an editorial arguing that health care workers who have recovered from natural SARS-Cov-2 infection should be except from COVID-19 vaccination mandates. I agree.
The goal of public health is just that- to protect and improve the health of the public. Too often during the Covid-19 pandemic politicians have resorted to blatant power grabs in the name of public health. A prime example is vaccine mandates without recognizing natural immunity. Those with natural immunity do not require vaccination, and actually appear at this point in time to be less of a danger to public health than fully vaccinated individuals who do not have natural immunity. Fear is not a substitute for a rational analysis of the data. Mandating vaccinations for those who have natural immunity is either a blatant power grab by politicians, or a complete subjugation to fear over rational thinking.
The editorial makes three major points:
1. Natural immunity to single stranded RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 provides better protection than vaccination. ADVANTAGE: NATURAL IMMUNITY
2. Those with natural immunity appear to be less likely to transmit the virus to others. Vaccinated individuals without natural immunity appear to be more likely to transmit the virus to others. ADVANTAGE: NATURAL IMMUNITY
3. Those with both natural immunity and vaccination, appear to have a "super-immunity" to SARS-CoV-2. However, there appears to be minimal, if any benefit of super-immunity over natural immunity. Natural infection appears to be superior to vaccination because it may lead to innate cytokine response preventing a SARS-CoV-2 viral breach of the mucosal barrier in our respiratory tracts. While vaccines help the body respond to the virus once it is in the blood, natural immunity appears to also help prevent the virus from crossing the mucosal barrier, and thus prevent the virus from getting into the blood. ADVANTAGE: NATURAL IMMUNITY
This is an excellent read, short and right to the point. Take a look: