Headline Roundup • August 12th, 2021
Perspectives: Natural Immunity From COVID-19
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The subject of natural immunity from COVID-19 is coming up more amid debates about the coronavirus vaccine, vaccine mandates and the spread of the Delta variant. According to multiple studies, people who survived COVID-19 are significantly less susceptible to reinfection; however, the length of immunity is unknown and likely differs from person to person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said recently that people who previously had COVID-19 but haven't been vaccinated are more than twice as likely to be reinfected than a fully vaccinated person.
There are conflicting expert opinions on natural immunity. Some health professionals cited natural immunity as a reason not to mandate vaccines, arguing that young people are highly unlikely to die from COVID-19; some also said focusing on mandates can damage trust in public health and the human body's ability to fight disease. Other experts said that because the timeline for immunity is unknown and because new and more dangerous COVID-19 variants could develop, natural immunity is less useful and herd immunity is unachievable.
Featured Coverage of this Story
The Epoch Times
People who have recovered from COVID-19 retain broad and effective longer-term immunity to the disease, according to a new study.
Findings of the study, which is the most comprehensive of its kind so far, have implications for expanding understanding about human immune memory as well as future vaccine development for coronaviruses.
For the longitudinal study in Cell Reports Medicine, researchers looked at 254 patients with mostly mild to moderate symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection over a period of more than eight months (250 days) and found that their immune response to the virus remained durable and...
U.S. News & World Report
COVID-19 vaccine mandates have become a hotly contested issue, as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rebound nationwide, driven by the highly contagious delta variant and unswerving vaccine hesitancy. New York City will soon be the first major U.S. city to require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms and other indoor public spaces. Dr. Marty Makary, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and editor in chief of MedPage Today, argues that mandating vaccines for "every living, walking American" is, as of now, not well-supported by science. Moreover Makary, author of...
USA TODAY
As concerned friends and family members try to convince loved ones to get vaccinated, many are met with the argument: "I already got COVID, so I can't get it again."
Health experts say that just isn't true.
Although antibodies from natural infection may provide some protection against the virus, evidence shows nothing protects against COVID-19 better than vaccines.
People who have recovered from COVID-19 should get vaccinated to reduce their risk of reinfection, which will prevent transmission and suppress the opportunity for more variants – like the highly contagious delta – to emerge.
“Natural infection will...
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