Ignoring natural immunity is not science

It this epsiode, I discuss the recent phenomenon sweeping the country called vaccine fanaticism. The politization of Covid-19 variants, masks and vaccines has led to a disgusting fracture in our nation. Rather than keeping the discussion based on those with immunity versus those without it, we have gone all-in on pitting the vaccinated against the unvaccinated. 

VACCINE FANATICISM

Using a recent paper by Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine editor in chief of MedPage Today, I point out the utter fallacy of requiring all Americans to be vaccinated. First, let me say, I am pro-vaccine for those who need it or want it. The whole purpose of the vaccine is to prevent a serious illness leading to hospitalization or death. It does not mean you will never get sick again! 

However, the vaccine is a method of tricking your body to force a response from your immune system. By creating a similar spike protein found on SARS-Cov-2, the goal is for the immune system to learn how to fight it so when you do get infected, you will be able to fight it off more successfully.

We are well over 18 months observing patients who were infected and recovered naturally, gaining an immunity that is effective and long-lasting. That's because natural recovery means we develop antibodies to the entire surface of the virus, not just a spike protein faked by the vaccine.

The power of natural immunity was recently affirmed in an Israeli study, which found a 6.7 times greater level of protection among those with natural immunity vs. those with vaccinated immunity. In other words, though vaccines are a great way to provide protection, natural recovery is almost 7x times more powerful in protecting you from future infection. 

Dr. Makary states: 

Requiring the vaccine in people who are already immune with natural immunity has no scientific support. While vaccinating those people may be beneficial – and it's a reasonable hypothesis that vaccination may bolster the longevity of their immunity – to argue dogmatically that they must get vaccinated has zero clinical outcome data to back it. As a matter of fact, we have data to the contrary: A Cleveland Clinic study found that vaccinating people with natural immunity did not add to their level of protection.

So instead of talking about the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, we should be talking about the immune and the non-immune. Immunity is something people can test for with a simple antibody test. I would never recommend that anyone intentionally acquire the infection in order to get natural immunity, but vaccine passports and proof-of-vaccine documents should recognize it.

VACCINATING CHILDREN

As I wrap up my discussion of vaccine fanaticism, I wanted to draw attention to the eggregious notion that children should be vaccinated. We know they are the least suseptible and will have mild to no symptoms. Conversely, we are seeing alarming instances of children having serious complications from the vaccine. Dr. Makary states:

When it comes to vaccinating healthy kids – and you could argue young people up to 25 – there is a case for vaccination but it's not strong. The COVID-19 death risk is clustered among kids with a comorbid condition, like obesity. Of the more than 330 COVID-19 deaths in kids under age 25, there's good preliminary data suggesting that most or nearly all appear to be in kids with a pre-existing condition. For kids with concurrent medical conditions, the case for vaccination is compelling. But for healthy kids?

The risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 in kids ages 5 to17 is 0.3 per million for the week ending July 24, 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We also know that the risk of hospitalization after the second vaccine dose due to myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, is about 50 per million in that same age group.

It may be that the standard two-dose regimen is a dose too high and is inducing a strong inflammatory response causing these complications. A single dose of the vaccine may be highly effective in kids, as reported by Tel Aviv University. Researchers there found that one dose was 100% effective in kids ages 12 to 15. For now, until we get better data, I recommend one dose for healthy kids who have not already had COVID-19 in the past.

We must demand our public health officials update their talking points to make it about immunity vs. non-immunity. This is a much better way to convince those who have not yet achieved immunity to take appropriate steps, rather than creating an antagonistic atmosphere arrising from vaccine fanaticism. 

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