Natural Immunity is Not To Be Ignored

Europe is launching its COVID 19 Vaccine Passport this month and there are 3 ways to qualify:

1. Vaccinated Travelers
2. Tested Travelers
3. Travelers who have recovered from the virus

Most of Europe and the World Health Organization recognizes that immunity from having the virus is viable and real and just as protective if not more so than the vaccine.

Why the CDC and our government has not come around to the same conclusion even though there are many large studies that clearly indicate the robust immunity of those who have been previously infected, absolutely dumbfounds me.

Dr. Elisa Song, pediatrician has written a beautiful piece outlining the many reasons it’s ESSENTIAL we recognize natural immunity. She sites 45 resources/publications in her report for anyone who’d like to dive in and investigate on their own, come to their own conclusion.

It’s a long piece and I’ve taken the liberty to take some excerpts and post them below.

Her qualifications:
She’s a Stanford, NYU, UCSF-trained holistic pediatrician she’s also had an up close and personal experience with COVID. Both her children had COVID 19 and her son was hospitalized for a few days which is actually very unusual for children under the age of 12. They contracted the virus in the early stages of the outbreak, so everything was pretty novel and needless to say, a frightening time.

Because of who she is, along with her first-hand experience with COVID, she’s been following the data very closely and in my opinion has done a superb job talking about COVID in general and the vaccine for children specifically. She is neither pro or con vaccine. She just tries to give all the risks and benefits up front to help parents make an informed decision for their children.

If you’d like to skip my excerpts and go directly to her article, here’s the link. (Again her post is a bit long but if you’re curious, I think it’s worth the read).

Main Points from Dr. Songs article:

The World Health Organization acknowledged in its scientific brief on COVID-19 Natural Immunity dated May 10, 2021 (1) that:

“Natural infection may provide similar protection against symptomatic disease as vaccination.”

It’s time for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to acknowledge the same.

It’s time to look at the scientific data showing that natural immunity from prior COVID-19 infection is not only as protective, but may actually be MORE protective than a vaccine, and that prior infection may also increase the risk for serious adverse vaccine reactions.

It’s time to make a science-based policy shift and rethink the CDC’s current recommendation that all eligible individuals should get a vaccine, regardless of whether they’ve already had COVID-19.

“Protection against SARS-CoV-2 after natural infection is comparable with the highest available estimates on vaccine efficacies. Further well-designed research on this issue is urgently needed for improving evidence-based decisions on public health measures and vaccination strategies.”

Natural Immunity May Be MORE Protective than Vaccines Against Current & Future Variants

Due to the broad immune response to SARS-COV-2 infection, enduring immunity from future variants is more likely with natural infection than vaccination.

The CDC’s changed definition of vaccine breakthrough infections is bad policy …

Breakthrough Delta variant infections, deaths and hospitalizations after vaccination are increasing, but the current definition cannot accurately reflect the true numbers.

As of July 19, 2021, the CDC reported 5,914 breakthrough infections with 5,601 hospitalizations and 1,141 deaths. On the other hand, at the end of April before the CDC changed its definition of breakthrough cases, the CDC had reported 2X the number of breakthrough cases, with 10,262 vaccine breakthrough infections, 10% of which resulted in hospitalization and 2% in death. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of these vaccine breakthrough infections were asymptomatic.(33), confirming the WHO’s observation that most breakthrough Delta variant infections are mild or asymptomatic. With the changed CDC definition, 88% of breakthrough infections noted at the end of April would not have been counted because they did not result in hospitalization or death.

Asymptomatic and mild-moderate infection with the Delta variant that do not result in hospitalization and death are increasingly being reported in the US and other countries. Vaccinated people can still get COVID-19 and transmit it to others. However, the CDC’s change in definition of vaccine breakthrough infections makes it impossible to understand how variants are spreading among vaccinated individuals, or how variants are spreading from vaccinated individuals to unvaccinated individuals, including children and others who remain vulnerable.

If we do not track asymptomatic and mild-moderate vaccine breakthrough infections, we will never know the answers to these very important questions:

Those with Prior Infection Do NOT Need a Vaccine

A large study (34) of over 52,000 employees of the Cleveland Clinic Health System found that while COVID-19 infections increased in those without a prior history of infection who remained unvaccinated, the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection was essentially ZERO for:

• Unvaccinated people with history of prior infection
• Vaccinated people with history of prior infection
• Vaccinated people without history of prior infection

The authors conclude that:

“Individuals who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection are unlikely to benefit from COVID-19 vaccination, and vaccines can be safely prioritized to those who have not been infected before.”

Those with Prior Infection May Be at Higher Risk for Serious Adverse Events After a Vaccine No study has yet proven that people with prior COVID-19 infection benefit from a vaccine.

A stronger immune response to vaccination may increase the risk for short-term and long-term serious adverse vaccine events in children. Moreover, children with prior infection are expected to mount an even stronger immune response to vaccination even after the 1st dose, and may potentially be at even greater risk for post-vaccine serious adverse events.

If prior infection is identified as a risk factor for serious adverse vaccine events, individuals must have the option to test for prior infection before vaccination for a more accurate risk/benefit assessment in order to make a more informed decision.

The FDA and CDC Must Accept SARS-CoV-2 antibody and T-cell Testing as Proof of Immunity

It makes no scientific or common sense that antibodies are not considered valid assessments of immunity to COVID-19 – whether due to prior infection or vaccination.

Those with Prior Infection Should be Considered Immune

I am not recommending that individuals purposefully get COVID-19 infection to develop immunity.

But I AM urging the CDC to change its recommendation that children and adults with a history of prior COVID-19 infection should still get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Those who have had prior COVID-19 infection or have been fully vaccinated should all be considered IMMUNE.

Children and adults who have had prior COVID-19 infection should no longer live in fear that they are at risk for re-infection or for infecting others.

A CDC Policy Shift Could Reduce Serious Adverse Vaccine Events (and free up vaccines that the US has to go to other countries that are in need of vaccines)

 This science-based shift in policy will allow the nearly 44 million US children and adults who have already had COVID-19 to re-enter society safely and confidently, knowing they are as immune, if not more immune, than those who have been vaccinated..

This science-based shift in policy will allow much needed vaccine doses to be ethically distributed from the US to the many countries that are still feeling the devastating impact of the pandemic and get vaccines to vulnerable individuals who need protection the most.

As of July 16, 2021, there have been 34,048,317 reported cases of COVID-19 in the US with 608,787 deaths. (44) This means over 33.4 million children and adults in the US have had COVID-19 and survived. If the CDC makes this evidence-based policy shift, there could be nearly 67 million doses of vaccine that are available to distribute to countries in need. The US already has millions of unused COVID-19 vaccine doses that are set to expire and go to waste in a matter of weeks to months. Out of the nearly 394 million vaccine doses that have been delivered to vaccine partner sites across the US, a little over 340 million doses have been administered. (45). That’s over 53 million vaccine doses that will go to waste unless the US makes plans to redistribute them immediately to countries in need.

A global pandemic will not end without a united global effort.

A global pandemic will not end without a rational, science-based approach. 

If you’re interested in reading the entire article and accessing Dr. Song’s references, follow this link.

I would love to hear your thoughts. I just ask they are relayed in a kind and respectful manner.

With care and love,

Cindy D