# Immunity after getting COVID should fulfill vaccine requirements **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 23, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258 "2022-01-23T03:25:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/301 "2022-02-02T21:53:28Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If the current stock of vaccines aren’t working on Omicron but someone who had it and developed antibodies then why wouldn’t the person with the antibodies be considered unvaccinated? Because “vaccinated” means someone stuck a needle in your arm and injected a vaccine. Catching a disease au naturel is not “vaccinated”. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/302 "2022-02-02T22:03:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > We know that not from counting antibodies, but by counting people who were or were not vaccinated. No, that’s not true. The people who were naturally immune from it were not counted. This is the entirety of the question I put forth. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/303 "2022-02-02T22:14:29Z")
Can you type more words? What people who were naturally immune? In what way were they not counted? Lots of studies have looked at people who have recovered from covid and looked at their antibodies, their t-cells, and their propensity to catch covid. They are counted in many studies. That’s why we know that they tend to catch omicron. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/304 "2022-02-02T22:31:24Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If the current stock of vaccines aren’t working on Omicron but someone who had it and developed antibodies then why wouldn’t the person with the antibodies be considered unvaccinated? People who had the Delta variant have poor immunity to Omicron. People who have had Omicron can have good immunity against other variants. However, people who had very mild Omicron cases have crappy neutralization capacity (see cite) against even Omicron itself. People who are boosted have better immunity to everything including Omicron. Somehow everyone in the thread knows that being boosted is the gold standard (or at least previously-infected + vaccinated) but you still appear to be confused. I’m not sure what will help you out. > **[Immunity based upon “mild" Omicron infection is weak for Omicron reinfection](https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220130/Immunity-based-upon-e2809cmild-Omicron-infection-is-weak-for-Omicron-reinfection.aspx)** > > Researchers evaluate antibody responses in vaccinated individuals who subsequently developed Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/305 "2022-02-02T22:31:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If the current stock of vaccines aren’t working on Omicron Since this is false, is it worth reading the rest of the sentence? Anyway, if you put all the vaccinated people into one bucket and all the unvaccinated (previous case or no) people into the other, the unvaccinated people are dying at **20 times** the rate of the vaccinated people. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/306 "2022-02-03T05:16:41Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Anyway, if you put all the vaccinated people into one bucket and all the unvaccinated (previous case or no) people into the other, the unvaccinated people are dying at **20 times** the rate of the vaccinated people. That’s a non-statement. You have to separate the people who have contracted the virus and have developed antibodies from those who haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/307 "2022-02-03T08:51:00Z")
And that’s been done. The reinfection rate is high with omicron. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/308 "2022-02-03T11:35:04Z")
In addition to what **puzzlegal** said, while I have no idea what percentage of the 20x unvaccinated people had a previous infection, I do feel confident that, had they been vaccinated, their risk of dying would put them in the 1/20th bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/309 "2022-02-04T00:31:51Z")
And having natural antibodies from getting covid should fall in that category. Which is the point of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/310 "2022-02-04T00:41:42Z")
I would like to nominate “Immunity” after getting covid as the most misleading, misinformative, thread title in the history of the board. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/311 "2022-02-04T00:44:41Z")
If you’re dead [insert meme of guy pointing to his head here] you can’t catch COVID again Perfect vaccine ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/312 "2022-02-04T00:53:52Z")
“Immunity”. It sounds so declarative and meaningful. What a thread title. It would dupe the easily duped into thinking that there was actual immunity available. Just get sick. (Try not to spread it ha ha fucking ha!) Amazing. I kind of feel like Neil Young here, wondering why the powers that be let the bullshit flow. And if I want to share a stage. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/313 "2022-02-04T00:59:40Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Because “vaccinated” means someone stuck a needle in your arm and injected a vaccine. Catching a disease au naturel is not “vaccinated”. By definition: treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease; The salient point is to produce immunity. Whether it’s by needle, pill, nasal spray or getting the disease the end result is the same. The point of the thread is to acknowledge the immunity acquired from getting covid. It may be better, the same, or worse than a needle, pill, or nasal spray. But it still exists. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/314 "2022-02-04T01:02:58Z")
Do you even know what immune means??? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/315 "2022-02-04T01:09:32Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Just get sick. Nobody is suggesting it is a method of immunization. It’s simply the natural end result if you DO get the virus. > [@bobot](#): > > (Try not to spread it ha ha fucking ha!) We already know vaccinated people get the virus and pass it on. We also know a great deal of it spreads without any symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/316 "2022-02-04T01:12:05Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Do you even know what immune means??? Eh? 😷 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/317 "2022-02-04T01:19:29Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Do you even know what immune means??? [From the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19/antibodies.html) Antibodies to [SARS-CoV-2], the virus that causes COVID-19, can be detected in the blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 or people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. For many diseases, including COVID-19, antibodies are expected to decrease or “wane” over time. After a long enough period of time, your level of antibodies can decrease below a level that provides effective protection. This level is called the “threshold of protection.” When antibodies decrease below the threshold of protection, you may become more vulnerable to severe illness. We do not yet know what the threshold of protection for antibodies is for the virus that causes COVID-19 or how long it takes these antibodies to wane. Even after antibodies wane, your immune system may have cells that remember the virus that can act quickly to protect you from severe illness if you become infected. These topics are being researched by scientists all over the world. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/318 "2022-02-04T01:23:55Z")
A little weird that in all of that the only time the word “immune” was used was in the term “Immune system”. An incredibly disappointing defenition of the term “Immune”. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/319 "2022-02-04T01:42:57Z")
It doesn’t appear that you’ve read the thread or are attempting any kind of dialogue. I’ve put forth the premise that getting covid contributes to the generation of antibodies just as a vaccine would and should be considered in the requirements of immunization. It is not a replacement for a vaccine just as a vaccine is not a replacement for getting covid. As I pointed out above using a CDC quote, they do not know what the threshold of protection is for antibodies. If they can test for the antibody response to any of the many vaccines available they should do the same for those got covid. It’s not an either/or venture. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258/320 "2022-02-04T02:25:18Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It doesn’t appear that you’ve read the thread or are attempting any kind of dialogue. Well, this is pretty rich. All of your arguments have been shown to be wrong-headed, over and over, even by the poster who agrees that COVID infection can take the place of partial vaccination. But, you come back over and over with the same arguments, round and round we go. > [@Magiver](#): > > It is not a replacement for a vaccine just as a vaccine is not a replacement for getting covid. This is seriously wrong. A vaccine is a replacement for getting COVID. Thanks for the discussion. I’m out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-after-getting-covid-should-fulfill-vaccine-requirements/958258.md?page=17)