In fact, one study found that previous COVID-19 was associated with increased adverse events following vaccination with the Comirnaty BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer–BioNTech).
In Switzerland, residents who can prove they have recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection through a positive PCR or other test in the past 12 months are considered equally protected as those who have been fully vaccinated.
Although longer follow-up studies are needed, clinicians should remain optimistic regarding the protective effect of recovery from previous infection. Community immunity to control the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic can be reached with the acquired immunity due to either previous infection or vaccination. Acquired immunity from vaccination is certainly much safer and preferred. Given the evidence of immunity from previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, policy makers should consider recovery from previous SARS-CoV-2 infection equal to immunity from vaccination for purposes related to entry to public events, businesses, and the workplace, or travel requirements.
I’m not seeing “6 times better” in the actual study that article is based on:
What i do see is that it says prior to the Delta wave, vaccination was more protective than prior infection, but as Delta took over, prior infection was 2-3 times more protective than then-waning vaccination. That is, they point out that Delta hit as vaccines were getting stale and before many people got boosters.
Oh yes. The death rates and rates of long-term side effects from vaccine are tiny. Whereas hundreds of thousands have died in the the US alone from COVID, and an unknown but seemingly large number of people have developed lingering symptoms, including brain fog, shortness of breath, anosmia, and others.
People keep saying this, but the infrastructure for that system is already in place. At least, my state’s vaccine registry already includes info on prior infection and other reasons not to be vaccinated (such as too old, or too young) for several other diseases. That data can only be entered by authorized people, like those allowed to give vaccines, and your doctor. Your can’t just upload stuff about yourself.
I’ve had two employers ask my COVID vaccine status. One checked with the state vaccine registry, and its process would have been unchanged had that registry included prior infection. The other said “thanks, you’re all set” the second i uploaded what i claimed was a photo of my vaccine card. It was basically operating on the honor system, except i suppose someone could later check to see what i submitted. But i don’t expect they will unless i give them a reason to.
Similarly, those states that let you put your covid vaccine record in your phone just point to “covid” part of the page. They wouldn’t need to change anything in the app if that page included prior infection.
For that matter, just like the pharmacist jots “Pfizer, lot XYZ, Jan 24, 2022, initials”, (and you could add something yourself, were you inclined to lie) on the little card they use, your doctor could jot “positive BinaxNOW, Jan 24, 2022, initials” on that very same card.
I’m happy to grant that vaccine immunity is stronger, and certainly for Delta. That’s really besides the point, in my mind. The problem for me is that people who don’t want the vaccine will go out and get COVID in order to avoid getting vaccinated.
That would be fine for me, except that it’s not like they keep their infection to themselves.
To me, the public health issue is so important that we should require more vaccination for people who can get vaccinated, not less. Nearly everyone who wants a vaccine has gotten one at this point. There are some minority who “hasn’t gotten around to it”, there are young kids who are still working through the process, and a tiny minority who can’t get it for medical reasons. The vast majority of the unvaccinated adults now are anti-vaxxers, and I see no reason to change any rules to accommodate them.
I expect our vaccine mandates to shift from “fully vaccinated” (two doses of mRNA) to “currently vaccinated”. It’s not just about what to “count” now, but how to track covid immune status going forward.
And i expect to see continued breakthrough infections among the vaccinated. And there can be more side effects to vaccination if you’ve recently had covid. And i think our record of “likely to be immune based on medical history” ought to be accurate, not politicized by “bad bad people who got sick”.
A pretty large fraction of those who avoided the vaccine have already caught covid. I just don’t see that recognizing immunity from prior infection is going to encourage tons of people to go try to get sick.
So the new job requirement is “get a vaccine or expose yourself to COVID?” Huh, can’t see anything that might go wrong with that.
Although this does carry the possible reverse-psychological benefit of “Biden told me to get COVID? I’ll show that bastard and just get the vaccine instead.”
Although most likely this would just end up being another useless document for Marty MAGA to forge before he gets on the plane back from Sturgis to infect everyone in his wake.
But couldn’t a doctor also falsely claim that a person was vaccinated? If you don’t trust doctors to be truthful about a covid diagnosis then how could you trust a doctor about vaccination verification?
Vaccines in NJ are being run either by pharmacies or the state itself, so I don’t know how you would get one of them to fake up a vaccination and submit it to the state. Maybe other states are different.
But, yes, of course there’s fraud. Anti-vaxxers have already been busted using faked vaccine cards. Why have another avenue for fraud while also encouraging anti-vaxxers to intentionally get sick to avoid the vaccine requirements?
Huh, lots of doctors are giving jabs here. Yes, the pharmacies are the primary providers, but they are closely followed by hospital clinics, and doctor’s offices are doing it, too. The state has closed all its sites.
Anyway, i don’t see why a pharmacist is less likely to lie than a doctor.
For the moderates, if they couldn’t fly without proof of vaccine, then they would probably get vaccinated. Vaccine mandates in workplaces have been extremely effective.
Threatening doctors, nurses, and schoolboard members, yelling in cashiers faces without a mask on, getting removed from airplanes for refusing to wear a mask. I definitely don’t want to give those assholes a pass from getting a vaccine in order to go out to a restaurant or see a concert or whatever.
Maybe in some places, but not nearly every place. When I tested positive, the van that did the test did not ask to see my ID. When I got the results and called my doctor, they did not ask to see the results before prescribing me an antiviral (among other prescriptions*) , determining when I could end isolation and writing me a note for work. Nothing would have been different if I had taken a home test - but at the time this happened, I had absolutely incentive to lie about testing positive. If prior infection is going to substitute for vaccination in terms of entry to venues, etc. - well, now if I don’t want to get vaxxed, I have an incentive to lie. Which means my doctor** is going to want to see lab results before making any entries in any record saying that I was infected. Which means he wouldn’t accept a home test. And presumably the van would have wanted to see my ID - which is not a problem for me , since I have one. But not everyone does.
* Because of my history, they also treated me for a secondary bacterial infection.
** Not saying all doctors would, but mine would, at least for most patients, and I’m sure he’s not the only one.
I see how they could do both! However, a vaccination is more closely tracked – they have to buy the vaccine and deliver the doses. And, as mentioned above, the states already track it. COVID diagnosis is much easier to fake – just say that he saw the negative test.
As I said above, why allow another avenue for fraud just to give anti-vaxxers another way to infect the rest of us?
