Update March 11, 2022 with longest observational study yet showing long lasting natural immune response
Update Jan. 14, 2022 with fully vaccinated surpassing vaccinated in Australian hospitals
Update Dec. 16 with most Omicron Covid US cases reported among vaccinated
Update Dec. 12 with Israel study and study on higher vaccine side effects when given to those who already recovered
Update Dec. 5 with Danish data on natural immunity more effective than vaccine immunity
Update Dec. 1 with Qatar study on rarity of serious reinfection
Update Nov. 7 with US study finding dramatically waning vaccine effectiveness
Updated Oct. 30 with UK data showing no difference between viral load/spread in vaccinated and unvaccinated
Updated Oct. 29 with Israel data showing vaccine immunity wore off in just a few months in all age groups
Updated Oct. 13 with UK info showing waning vaccine effectiveness after 3-4 months
Updated Oct. 3 with Finnish study showing antibodies after Covid-19 infection persist for a long time
Updated Sept. 12 with CDC-funded study finding U.S. population reached what some experts said is “herd immunity” levels last May. Also, updated CDC number of fully-vaccinated hospitalizations and deaths with Covid.
Updated Sept. 8 with new study in Science Transitional Medicine and recommended spacing of Covid-19 RNA shots due to declining effectiveness and lack of effectiveness of vaccine mandates
Updated Aug. 27 with large Israel study that finds dramatically better protection from natural immunity than vaccination
Updated Aug. 24 with Israel changing policies with recognition that the Pfizer vaccine allegedly wears off after several months.
Updated Aug. 6 with CDC analysis of Kentucky (unvaccinated Kentuckians had “2.34 times the odds of reinfection” compared with fully vaccinated) and national analysis in Israel (vaccinated Israelis were 6.72 times more likely to get infected after the shot than after natural infection). More below.
Important note: Scientists say antibody tests are not the only way to measure a person’s immunity; some people who have fought off Covid-19, either with or without symptoms, and have immunity will not have measurable antibodies in their systems. Therefore, a negative antibody test should not be considered proof of lack of immunity.
The Natural Immunity Factor
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) became one of the latest high-profile figures to get sick with Covid-19, even though he’s fully vaccinated. In a statement Monday, Graham said it feels like he has “the flu,” but is “certain” he would be worse if he hadn’t been vaccinated.
While it’s impossible to know whether that’s the case, public health officials are grappling with the reality of an increasing number of fully-vaccinated Americans coming down with Covid-19 infections, getting hospitalized, and even dying of Covid. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) insists vaccination is still the best course for every eligible American. But many are asking if they have better immunity after they’re infected with the virus and recover, than if they’re vaccinated.
Increasingly, the answer within the data appears to be ”yes.”
141 Research Studies Affirm Naturally Acquired Immunity to Covid-19: Documented, Linked, and Quoted
Update: March 11, 2022: The longest observational study yet finds persistent immunity 18 months after natural infection, which beats out two-dose vaccine immunity.
Why does CDC seem to be “ignoring” natural immunity?
In fact, some medical experts have said they’re confounded by public health officials’ failure to factor natural and virus-acquired immunity into the Covid equation. Public and media narratives often press the necessity of “vaccination for all,” chiding states where vaccination rates are lowest. And they use vaccination rates and Covid case counts as inverse indicators of how safe it is in a particular state: high vaccination rate = high safety; high case counts = low safety (they claim).
- The Clot Factor: A Full Measure Town Hall
- The Clot Factor
- The Microvascular Research Foundation
- Long Vax, Long Covid Resources
- Covid-19 Natural Immunity: The Definitive Summary
- Covid-19 Vaccine: 80 of the Most Common Adverse Events
- Covid-19 Vaccine Concerns Summary
- Covid-19 Vaccine Analysis: Common Adverse Events
- Covid-19 Origins: Separating Rumor from Fact (WATCH)
- Report a Possible Vaccine Adverse Event
However, vaccination rates alone tell little about a population’s true immune-status. And where high Covid case counts occur, it ultimately means a larger segment of that community ends up better-protected, vaccines aside. That’s according to virologists who point out that fighting off Covid, even without developing any symptoms, leaves people with what’s thought to be more robust and longer-lasting immunity than the vaccines confer.
The vaccine immunity problem
Hard data counters widespread public misinformation that claimed “virtually all” patients hospitalized and dying of Covid-19 are unvaccinated. Pfizer and Moderna had claimed their vaccines were “100% effective” at preventing serious illness. Many in the media even popularized a propaganda phrase designed to push more people to get vaccinated: “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Not so, say CDC and other data.
Listen to podcast with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who addresses the strength of natural immunity
Recent CDC data found that 74% of those who tested positive for Covid-19 in a Massachusetts analysis had been fully-vaccinated. Equally as troubling for those advocating vaccination-for-all: four out of five people hospitalized with Covid were fully-vaccinated. And CDC said “viral load” — indicating how able the human host is to spread Covid-19 — is about the same among the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Contrary to the infamous misinformation by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky last May, vaccinated people can— and are— spreading Covid. (CDC officials later corrected Walensky’s false claim.)
Below: CDC’s data with light blue showing fully vaccinated. Dark blue is unvaccinated (but may include some fully vaccinated.)
CDC’s newest findings on so-called “breakthrough” infections in vaccinated people are mirrored by other data releases.
Illinois health officials recently announced more than 160 fully-vaccinated people have died of Covid-19, and at least 644 been hospitalized; ten deaths and 51 hospitalizations counted in the prior week. Israel’s Health Ministry recently said effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has fallen to 40 percent. Last month, 100 vaccinated British sailors isolated on a ship at sea reportedly came down with Covid seven weeks into their deployment. In July, New Jersey reported 49 fully vaccinated residents had died of Covid; 27 in Louisiana; 80 in Massachusetts. In Iceland there is a spike in cases, mostly among the vaccinated, among a highly-vaccinated population that had previously claimed to have defeated Covid-19. Of 116 cases diagnosed in one day, 73 were among the vaccinated; 43 were unvaccinated.
Nationally, as of July 12, CDC said it was aware of more than 4,400 people who got Covid-19 after being fully vaccinated and had to be hospitalized; and 1,063 fully vaccinated people who died of Covid. But health officials still argue that vaccinated people make up only a small fraction of the seriously ill. Critics counter that CDC’s recent Massachusetts data calls that into question.
Update Jan. 14, 2022: Data published in Australia shows the number of fully vaccinated Australians In the hospital with Covid-19 surpassed the number of hospitalized who are unvaccinated. “The number of double-dose vaccinated patients in intensive care units (ICUs) also surpassed those of the unvaccinated, with 50.3% of the vaccinated presenting to ICU with COVID-19, more than the 49.1% who are unvaccinated.”
Update Dec. 16, 2021: As Omicron hits U.S., most initial cases are reported among vaccinated. “Officials disclosed the vaccination status of 66 of the infected individuals. Of those, the vast majority, or 52, were fully vaccinated. Some had even gotten booster shots.”
Update Dec. 12, 2021: Israel study Covid-19 infections and severe disease were higher among the vaccinated than those who recovered from the illness. The naturally immune had a 10.5 per 100,000 infection rate 4-6 mos. following recovery, vs a 69.2 per 100,000 rate among vaccinated. The number of severe cases was also higher among the vaccinated: 0.9 percent of all cases among that group were severe, compared with 0.5 percent of cases among the recovered.Researchers found that protection against infection dropped over time among both the recovered and vaccinated, but the drop was more pronounced among the vaccinated.
Update Dec. 12, 2021: A study finds those who previously had Covid and then get vaccinated may be at higher risk of adverse events from vaccine.
Update Dec. 5, 2021: Danish data indicates previously-infected are two times less likely to be identified as Covid-positive than fully-vaccinated.
Update Dec. 1, 2021: A study from Qatar finds death from reinfection after people have had one case of Covid is unheard of. “None led to hospitalization in an ICU, and none ended in death. Reinfections were rare and were generally mild, perhaps because of the primed immune system after primary infection.”
Update Sept. 7, 2021: CDC said it was aware of 2,675 fully vaccinated people who got Covid and died, and 11,440 more who were hospitalized with Covid for a total of 14,115, a small fraction of the seriously ill.
Update August 6, 2021: CDC has released a small analysis in Kentucky and indicated that it’s proof that vaccines are more effective than natural immunity. Read the analysis here. According to CDC, among the reinfected sample, 20% had been fully vaccinated. Among those who had Covid and were not later reinfected, 66% were unvaccinated. “Kentucky residents who were not vaccinated had 2.34 times the odds of reinfection compared with those who were fully vaccinated.”
Update August 6, 2021: In Israel, more than 7,700 new cases of the virus have been detected during the most recent wave starting in May, but just 72 of the confirmed cases were reported in people who were known to have been infected previously – that is, less than 1% of the new cases. Roughly 40% of new cases – or more than 3,000 patients – involved people who had been infected despite being vaccinated. By contrast, Israelis who were vaccinated were 6.72 times more likely to get infected after the shot than after natural infection, with over 3,000 of the 5,193,499, or 0.0578%, of Israelis who were vaccinated getting infected in the latest wave.
Update August 27, 2021: A large study in Israel finds natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization for the Delta variant of Coronavirus compared to two-doses of Pfizer vaccine.
According to the study, after three months, risk of infection was 13.06 times higher among vaccinated patients and they were 27 times more likely to experience symptoms than unvaccinated people who’d had Covid previously.
Participants who were double jabbed were 5.96 times more likely to be infected and 7.13 times more likely to experience symptoms including cough, fever and shortness of breath.
Update Oct. 29, 2021: Israeli researchers find “Immunity against the Delta variant from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine waned after a few months across age groups.”
Update Oct. 30, 2021: A UK study finds “fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently transmit infection in household settings,” “peak viral load did not differ by vaccination status or variant type” and “Household Secondary Attack Rate for delta infection, regardless of vaccination status, was 26%.”
Update Nov. 7, 2021: A U.S. study finds after 6 mos. Moderna vaccine effectiveness drops to 60%. Pfizer drops to 49%. J&J drops to 13%. Last yr, FDA’s Dr. Hahn said FDA wouldn’t authorize vaccines that weren’t at least 50% effective.
The bright side of recovering from Covid-19
But there’s promising news to be found within natural and acquired immunity statistics, according to virologists. As of May 29, CDC estimated more than 120 million Americans— more than one in three— had already battled Covid. While an estimated six-tenths of one-percent died, the other 99.4% of those infected survived with a presumed immune status that appears to be superior to that which comes with vaccination.
If doctors could routinely test to confirm who has fought off and become immune to Covid-19, it would eliminate the practical need or rationale for those protected millions to get vaccinated. It would also allow them to avoid even the slight risk of serious vaccine side effects.
Read more about Israel cases here
Unfortunately, virologists say no commonly-used test can detect with certainty whether a person is immune. A common misconception is that antibody tests can make that determination. But experts say immunity after infection or exposure often comes without a person producing or maintaining measurable antibodies.
Because of that reality, people who have had asymptomatic infections — infections where they suffered no symptoms — have no easy way to know that they’re immune. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that the millions who know they got Covid can be assured they’re unlikely to suffer reinfection, for at least as long of a time period that scientists have been able to measure. Possibly far beyond.
Update Aug. 24, 2021: With evidence of seriously-waning immunity at the five- to six-month mark, CDC is now recommending a third “booster” shot. In highly-vaccinated Israel, recognition that vaccination likely does not confer protection beyond a few months, the country has reimagined its vaccine passports. They will only apply to people who have had three shots, and only be good for a six month period of time. So far, the U.S. government has only adopted the third booster recommendation for certain individuals.
Update Sept. 8, 2021: Due to the waning immunity of Covid-19 vaccines, scientists are considering spacing out the two shots longer. They theorize that giving them as close together as they did was a mistake because the two shot regimen “acted as one shot” in terms of immunity. Other countries have already added additional weeks of spacing between the two Pfizer and Moderna shots.
Update Sept. 8, 2021: A study in Science Transitional Medicine finds natural infection may provide more powerful protection than double dose Covid-19 vaccination.
Update Sept. 12, 2021: A CDC-funded study finds the U.S. population reached a combined 83% natural infection and vaccine-induced immunity in May, 2021. That would mean the percentage is substantially higher today and beyond what many scientists said was necessary to achieve “herd immunity.”
Update Oct. 3, 2021: A Finnish study of Covid-19 recovered patients that looked as far as 13 months after infection finds “protection against re-infection is long-lived, although antibody-mediated immunity may not persist equally well among elderly subjects.” Federal scientists have previously found that flu shots are ineffective in the elderly due to immune issues. As more of the elderly got flu shots over the years, more of them died rather than the other way around, according to the definitive government study.
Updated Oct. 13, 2021: Data from the UK finds vaccines are “highly effective,” but effectiveness wanes after as little as 3-4 months.
The immunity-after-Covid-infection studies
The following are some of the data and studies relevant to immunity acquired after Covid infection.
This is the longest observational study yet, finding persistent immunity among naturally infected 18-months later, outperforming two-dose vaccine immunity.
141 Research Studies Affirm Naturally Acquired Immunity to Covid-19: Documented, Linked, and Quoted
Epidemologist Dr. Paul Alexander has compiled this list.
Protection and waning of natural and hybrid COVID-19 immunity
This study from Israel shows vaccinated people were twice as likely as unvaccinated, previously-infected to get a serious Covid case and were six times more likely to get Covid.
Severity of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfections as Compared with Primary Infections, Nov. 24, 2021
This study finds death among those reinfected with Covid is unheard of. “None led to hospitalization in an ICU, and none ended in death. Reinfections were rare and were generally mild, perhaps because of the primed immune system after primary infection.”
This study finds “Household Secondary Attack Rate for delta infection, regardless of vaccination status, was 26%” and “peak viral load did not differ by vaccination status.”
Waning Immunity after the BNT162b2 Vaccine in Israel, Oct. 27, 2021
Unlike natural immunity, Israeli data confirms that the Pfizer vaccine wore off in just a few months in all age groups.
Persistence of neutralizing antibodies a year after SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, Sept. 24, 2021
This Finnish study of Covid-recovered patients finds “protection against re-infection is long-lived, although antibody-mediated immunity may not persist equally well among elderly subjects.”
Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource Consumption and Mortality at the County Level, Sept. 3, 2021
This study by government scientists finds “There was no reduction in per-population daily mortality, hospital bed, ICU bed, or ventilator occupancy of COVID-19-positive patients attributable to the implementation of a mask-wearing mandate.”
Estimated US Infection- and Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Based on Blood Donations, July 2020-May 2021, Sept. 2, 2021
This CDC-funded study finds the U.S. population reached a combined 83% natural infection and vaccine-induced immunity in May, 2021. That would mean the percentage is substantially higher today and beyond what many scientists said was necessary to achieve “herd immunity.”
Comparing SARS-CoV-2 natural immunity to vaccine-induced immunity: reinfections versus breakthrough infections, Aug. 24, 2021
This large study in Israel shows “natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose vaccine-induced immunity.”
This study followed 254 Covid-19 patients for up to 8 months and concluded they had “durable broad-based immune responses.” In fact, even very mild Covid-19 infection also protected the patients from an earlier version of “SARS” coronavirus that first emerged around 2003, and against Covid-19 variants. “Taken together, these results suggest that broad and effective immunity may persist long-term in recovered COVID-19 patients,” concludes the study scientists.
This study of airline passengers in Qatar found that both vaccination and prior infection were “imperfect” when it comes to preventing positive Covid-19 test results, but that the incidence of reinfection is similarly low in both groups.
This study used “deep mutational scanning” and found natural infection may provide more powerful protection than double-dose Covid-19 vaccination: “This greater binding breadth means that single RBD mutations have less impact on neutralization by vaccine sera compared to convalescent sera.”
Necessity of COVID-19 vaccination in previously infected individuals, June 1, 2021
This study followed 52,238 employees of the Cleveland Clinic Health System in Ohio.
For previously-infected people, the cumulative incidence of re-infection “remained almost zero.” According to the study, “Not one of the 1,359 previously infected subjects who remained unvaccinated had a [Covid-19] infection over the duration of the study” and vaccination did not reduce the risk. “Individuals who have had [Covid-19] infection are unlikely to benefit from COVID-19 vaccination,” concludes the study scientists.
SARS-CoV-2 specific memory B-cells from individuals with diverse disease severities recognize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, May 29, 2021
This study found strong immune signs in people who had previously been infected with Covid-19, including “those [who] experienced asymptomatic or mild disease.” The study concludes there is “reason for optimism” regarding the capacity of prior infection “to limit disease severity and transmission of variants of concern as they continue to arise and circulate.”
A population-based analysis of the longevity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity in the United States, May 24, 2021
This study of real world data extended the timeframe of available data indicating that patients have strong immune indicators for “almost a year post-natural infection of COVID-19.” The study concludes the immune response after natural infection “may persist for longer than previously thought, thereby providing evidence of sustainability that may influence post-pandemic planning.”
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans, May 24, 2021
This study examined bone marrow of previously-infected patients and found that even mild infection with Covid-19 “induces robust antigen-specific, long-lived humoral immune memory in humans.” The study indicates “People who have had mild illness develop antibody-producing cells that can last lifetime.”
People who have had mild illness develop antibody-producing cells that can last lifetime.
World Health Organization (WHO) scientific brief, May 10, 2021
This scientific brief issued by WHO states that after natural infection with Covid-19, “available scientific data suggests that in most people immune responses remain robust and protective against reinfection for at least 6-8 months.”
Detection of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Humoral and Cellular Immunity in COVID-19 Convalescent Individuals, May 3, 2020
This study found humoral and cellular immunity in recovered Covid patients. “Production of S-RBD-specific antibodies were readily detected in recovered patients. Moreover, we observed virus-neutralization activities in these recovered patients,” wrote the study authors.
The adaptive immune system consists of three major lymphocyte types: B cells (antibody producing cells), CD4+ T cells (helper T cells), and CD8+ T cells (cytotoxic, or killer, T cells
From: Antigen-Specific Adaptive Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in Acute COVID-19 and Associations with Age and Disease Severity
Protection of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection is similar to that of BNT162b2 vaccine protection: A three-month nationwide experience from Israel, April 24, 2021
This study from Israel found a slight advantage to natural infection over vaccination when it comes to preventing a reinfection and severe illness from Covid-19.
The study authors concluded, “Our results question the need to vaccinate previously-infected individuals.”
A 1 to 1000 SARS-CoV-2 reinfection proportion in members of a large healthcare provider in Israel: a preliminary report, March 6, 2021
This study found a rare Covid-19 positive test “reinfection” rate of 1 per 1,000 recoveries.
This study finds people who had Covid and then got vaccinated with Pfizer, anyway, may be at higher risk of adverse events from vaccination.
Lasting immunity found after recovery from COVID-19, Jan. 26, 2021
Research funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Science early in the Covid-19 vaccine effort found the “immune systems of more than 95% of people who recovered from COVID-19 had durable memories of the virus up to eight months after infection,” and hoped the vaccines would produce similar immunity. (However, experts say they do not appear to be doing so.)
SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in a cohort of 43,000 antibody-positive individuals followed for up to 35 weeks, Jan. 15, 2021
This study found Covid-19 natural infection “appears to elicit strong protection against reinfection” for at least seven months. “Reinfection is “rare,” concludes the scientists.
Immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 assessed for up to eight months after infection, Nov. 1, 2020
This study confirmed and examined “immune memory” in previously-infected Covid-19 patients.
Negligible impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on CD4+ and CD8+ T cell reactivity in COVID-19 exposed donors and vaccinees, Nov. 1, 2020
This study concluded “T cell” immune response in former Covid-19 patients likely continues to protect amid Covid-19 variants.
Orthogonal SARS-CoV-2 Serological Assays Enable Surveillance of Low-Prevalence Communities and Reveal Durable Humoral Immunity, Oct. 13, 2020
This study found that “neutralizing antibodies are stably produced for at least 5–7 months” after a patient is infected with Covid-19.
SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity in cases of COVID-19 and SARS, and uninfected controls, July 25, 2020
This study found that all patients who recently recovered from Covid-19 produced immunity-strong T cells that recognize multiple parts of Covid-19.
They also looked at blood samples from 23 people who’d survived a 2003 outbreak of a coronavirus: SARS (Cov-1). These people still had lasting memory T cells 17 years after the outbreak. Those memory T cells, acquired in response to SARS-CoV-1, also recognized parts of Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2).
Much of the study on the immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has focused on the production of antibodies. But, in fact, immune cells known as memory T cells also play an important role in the ability of our immune systems to protect us against many viral infections, including—it now appears—COVID-19.
“Immune T Cells May Offer Lasting Protection Against COVID-19”
Read: scientific commentary by Jay Bhattacharya, Sunetra Gupta, and Martin Kulldorff.
Dear Sharyl
Since your last Full Measure show on natural immunity protection, the data is now unequivocal that it is the best protection specially when vaccines failure is evident and breakthrough infections are soaring worldwide.
.
Below is the data summary we commented in JAMA for the readers; would like you to produce another show to reflect this new evidence .
June 8, 2021
We must stop ignoring natural immunity – it’s now long overdue
Manish Joshi, MD
This article by Vitale et al. (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2780557) is another addition to a growing body of literature supporting the conclusion that natural immunity confers robust, durable, and high-level protection against COVID-19 (1-4). Yet some scientific journals, editorial commentary associated with this article, and public policy messaging continue to cast doubt. That doubt has real-world consequences, especially, for resource limited countries. We would like to review available data.
Infection generates immunity. The “SIREN” study in the Lancet addressed the relationships between seropositivity in people with previous COVID-19 infection and subsequent risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome due to SARS-CoV-2 infection over the subsequent 7-12 months (1). Prior infection decreased risk of symptomatic re-infection by 93%. A large cohort study published in JAMA Internal Medicine looked at 3.2 million US patients and showed that the risk of infection was significantly lower (0.3%) in seropositive patients v/s those who are seronegative (3%) (2).
Perhaps even more important to the question of duration of immunity is a recent study that has demonstrated the presence of long-lived memory immune cells in those who have recovered from COVID-19 (3). This implies a prolonged (perhaps years) capacity to respond to new infection with new antibodies.
In contrast to this collective data demonstrating both adequate and long-lasting protection in those who have recovered from COVID-19, the duration of vaccine-induced immunity is not fully known. To date >10,000 breakthrough infections (2 weeks after completion of vaccination) have been reported by CDC in the US, with a mortality of ~2% (5).
How should we use the collective data to prioritize vaccination? These new data support simple and logical concepts. The goal of vaccination is to generate memory cells that can recognize SARS-CoV-2 and rapidly generate neutralizing antibodies that either prevent or mitigate both infection and transmission. Those who have survived COVID-19 must almost by definition have mounted an effective immune response; it is not surprising that the evolving literature shows that prior infection decreases vulnerability. In our view, the data suggest that people confirmed to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 may not need vaccination, and do not need vaccination in the short term. Given the number of persons who have been infected, this simple approach could free up vaccine (estimated ~200 million doses) for the more vulnerable population around the globe and could accelerate vaccine roll-out tremendously for those in need.(6) We should not be debating the implications of prior infection; we should be debating how to confirm prior infection.
Manish Joshi, MD
Thaddeus Bartter, MD
Anita Joshi, BDS, MPH
1. Hall VJ, Foulkes S, Charlett A et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection rates of antibody-positive compared with antibody-negative health-care workers in England: large, multicentre, prospective cohort study (SIREN). Lancet. 2021
2. Harvey RA, Rassen JA, Kabelac CA, et al. Association of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositive Antibody Test With Risk of Future Infection. JAMA Intern Med.
3. Turner, J.S., Kim, W., Kalaidina, E. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans. Nature 2021
4. Wang, Z., Yang, X., Zhong, J. et al. Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 generates T-cell memory in the absence of a detectable viral infection. Nat Commun 12, 1724 (2021).
5. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7021e3.htm
6. Kuehn BM. High-Income Countries Have Secured the Bulk of COVID-19 Vaccines. JAMA. 2021;325(7):612
A gem of an interview with Dr. Ryan Cole Wide ranging on vaccines, effective early treatments, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUE5EBPt-lU
This is a breath of fresh air. An article that is well researched and objective, rather than propaganda.
Thank You,
About that Kentucky study, came across a twitter thread from Phil Kerpen today that might be relevant. (Or at least linguistically clearer?)
“I see a lot of misrepresentation of that Kentucky study as natural immunity vs. vaccine when it was actually natural immunity vs. natural immunity PLUS vaccine. Even Francis Collins appeared to misstate it. HUGE difference.”
https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/1426558028522872836
(See rest of tweet thread for context.)
Exactly. Study was only 246 people just in state of Kentucky over two months, and was ALL peeps with natural immunity. Dr Collins COMPLETELY misrepresented it! Talk about fishing around for anything that might support your narrative? So it was prior infection WITH a vax or prior infection WITHOUT a vax. Even then authors offered more caveats than u could count if u read in depth, so would take with grain of salt. And either way said acquired immunity offers broad & durable protection.
Even more important to note is the study was natural immunity obtained within 5-13 months (Apr 20 – Dec 20) versus the same plus vaccination obtained within the previous 6 months (Jan 21 – Jun 21) with the vast majority of vaccinations occurring within the previous 3 months. It is a bogus study that completely distorts the stated conclusion.
Thanks for standing up for us! I had a natural infection last year. A year later I tested and still have antibodies. I know several people who had BAD reactions to the vaccine. In one case they also got COVID 4 weeks after the second shot. Another had to be rushed to the ER with heart issues. Yet they tell me that I NEED the vaccine. Not recommended, NEEDED.
The CDC is changing testing guidelines, article published July 21, 2021 on the CDC.gov website (it is a bit hard to find…go figure…and states the reason is to have a test that distinguishes between Sars-CoV-2 and influenza.
Ohhhh, so they are admitting the RT PCR test could NOT distinguish between the covid virus and influena virus!?!. Aren’t common colds also a corona virus ascendant that tests positive as Sars’CoV-2 using the RT PCR test? Maybe that is why the data on flu and colds dropped to zero or near zero while incidence of (recorded) covid-19 positive tests showed off the scale?
The article states that the implementation of different covid-19 testing is to be implemented either Dec 31, 2021 or Jan 01, 2022.
Ok, so if the PCR testing doesn’t work as “previously advertised”, why are all of the institutions still pushing testing and stating testing results??? Isn’t it time, due to the stated reasons for testing guidance change, to stop the current testing and statements and data based on current test results?
It seems they really consider the American and world public to be thoroughly ignorant as to what is really going on. And for those reading this comment who believe “the establishment”, look this all up….and WAKE UP!! This is your life, and the lives of your loved ones you put more at risk by not at least looking at these indisputable and documented (by the government) facts!
All of this will prove how deep and powerful corruption is. That corruption is running the mainstream media, the pharmaceutical industry, the health care industry, the banking industry, most of the food industry, the oil and gas industry, and so much more. It is NOT your fault you have been deceived. But, it will be your fault if, after reading this and not doing your due diligence to find the truth (as opposed to being spoon fed the truth from the corrupt establishment), for the nightmare this world may fall into. Please, search!
Sharyl, your information is so concise and well done. Easy for non-medical people to digest. Thank you for your work on this crazy subject; you will become my source when talking to the completely uninformed sheep out there. Do you have any info on mask efficacy/lack thereof regarding to the virus?
Here’s a question I can’t seem to find an answer to. A never-before infected individual takes two shots or an mRNA vaccine and subsequently gets infected. Does he then acquire natural immunity, which seems to be less specific and more robust? Or does the vaccine interfere with the natural immunity process in some way? I the latter, the vaccine would be a recipe for constant reinfection with every variant that comes along (necessitating an endless stream of boosters, of course).
Like to think their immune system would still generate antibodies and protection to the ACTUAL virus despite being vaxxed and suffering a breakthrough, but very good question.
If the SEC had a similar relationship with some large corporations; or the Supreme Court had a similar relationship to some large law firms; AS Dr. Fauci; the CDC, the WHO and university medicine departments have with BIG PHARMA; there would be 50 years of conflict of interest law suits.
I had Covid-like symptoms in Feb/Mar 2020 when tests weren’t available. My MD said she could order a chest x-ray to confirm. I declined and just suffered through six weeks of chest pain, dry cough, etc, sleeping with a hot water bottle on my chest. I never get colds or flu (except the one time in the 1990s when a flu shot backfired and gave me super flu) so knew this was odd. As my kids are pressing me to get vaccinated, I took an antibody test last week which came up negative, although later read it was a pretty basic test that excluded the T-cells. I then went ahead and got the first Pfizer shot (just in case!) as I’m over 50. I still suspect I have the same good immunity against colds (coronaviruses!) and flu as I always did. My top concern though is for children who have shown natural immunity against Covid-19 from the get go. What kind of society throws its children on the fires like this?
Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for! Links to studies regarding natural immunity and the source of the studies.
Thank you also for well written overview of each study. Great Journalism.
If previously infected with COVID-19, does getting a vaccine change your natural immunity? Does the mRNA vaccine interfere with natural immunity.
Exceptional work here, Sharyl. I personally have done a great deal of research on this subject and your article, with included citations and references, again evidences your incredible journalistic professionalism.
From a purely personal health standpoint, I have paid little or no attention to the pandemic simply because I have always seemed to be relatively immune to flu / cold related viruses. I have not had the flu (or a flu shot) since I was 8 or 9 years old. I have not had so much as a “runny nose” cold since about the same time. I am now 72, so I have a very high suspicion my little t-cell buddies know all about COVID. And, although I cannot be 100% certain of course, my guess is I’m one of the lucky ones that enjoy true natural t-cell immunity. I do take vitamins and I do drink fruit / vegetable smoothies 2 or 3 times a week but that’s about it.. I wear an N95 mask if it is requested at a store, but mostly out of courtesy to others and not for personal protection. Everyone knows the virus goes right through an N95 just like any other mask but if that’s your “Teddy Bear” and it makes you feel all warm and cozy, .no problem with me. What is crystal clear for me and people like me, however, acquiescing for any “Russian Roulette”-styled vaccination makes zero sense and I simply will not do so. It is stupidity on a grand and truly a galactic scale.
Again, thank you so much for this exceptionally well-researched article. You do great work and everyone knows it. Never stop! I have become a donator / subscriber. and I suggest others that appreciate this increasingly rare and difficult to find quality of journalism to do so as well.
Just curious here, what’s your blood type?
I AM NOT A D.R. BUT I HAD A THOUGHT, MOST THINK CHINA MADE THIS VIRUS. AND HOW IT TARGETS THE GROPS IT DOES . IT KILLS MORE MEN THAN WOMAN . IT KILLS THE OLD. AND THEM OF COLOR. 2 TO 3 TIMES MORE . CHINA COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS BY DNC. THE BAND IS TOO WIDE. BUT THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT BY BLOOD TYPES. HAS ANY ONE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AND BLOOD TYPES OF THE ONE THAT GOT THE VIRUS AND THEM THAT HAVE DIED . IT DOES SEAM . LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO START IF THEY HAVE NOT LOOK AT IT . AND IF THEY HAVE . AND SOME TYPES ARE MORE LIKEY . THEN WHY HAVE THEY NOT SAID SO .
COVID19 targets the elderly and people
with other serious medical problems.
Maybe males, and
people of color (both sexes),
have a higher percentage
of serious medical problems
than White females?
Ms. Atkisson: Your integrity, diligence, and honesty as a journalist is refreshing in the Era of Propaganda and Narrative. Thank you for digging into the scientific literature and sharing the highlights of these many studies with your readers. I am a retired veterinarian, trained and experienced in most medical disciplines,and in multiple species. (My MD friends used to call me “The Ultimate General Practitioner.) I have been reading scientific research papers since the early 1970’s. The data conspicuously absent from the Narrative, as so many other medical professionals have observed and decried, is the absence of reports of “breakthrough infections” in previously infected individuals. If these patients existed in ANY significant number, those interested in fear-mongering would be trumpeting them on every possible outlet. They do not exist, in any statistically measurable quantity, because natural immunity is robust and durable. The T-cells and plasma cells, once activated by infection, store the “recipe” for manufacturing new antibodies, which will be produced promptly whenever a new challenge from that pathogen is experienced. There is an easily-accessed test which has received EUA from the CDC to prove the presence of these cells in a recovered patient. Please research T-Detect.com for more information for your readers.
Dr. Wells
Good thing you take care of animals and not humans !
Information from Israel is available on how long the vaccine induced antibodies are lasting (not long) and how effective the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been with the Delta variant (poor).
By failing to seek the latest information, you have made false statements in your comments that make you appear to be a fool.
If you expect that the CDC and other divisions of the US government are providing accurate up to date information about vaccine effectiveness and adverse side effects to the public, then you are a gullible fool.
Either way, you jump to conclusions without seeking the necessary data to support those conclusions. That’s politics, not science. I feel sorry for the animals you treat.
What the heck are you on about Richard Greene? You clearly are so confused and obsessed with your own opinion that you did not take the time to digest and understand the reply by Dr Wells. What Dr Wells wrote was well articulated, accurate and in no way contradicts any of the research referenced in the original article. Please wake-up!
Great reporting!! I sure wish this information was also being reported on more nightly news type programs. Most Americans just are not aware and just follow drumbeat of ‘the narrative’. It really seems like a failed vaccine program which is a shame … so many were hoping for better results. What was developed was a ‘leaky vaccine’ and that’s a recipe for variants as I’ve read elsewhere. ????❜? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ?????????? … ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???????????? ?????.
Could this be why … https://www.healthline.com/health-news/leaky-vaccines-can-produce-stronger-versions-of-viruses-072715
Almost half of your comment shows up as empty boxes,
rather than letters, on my computer. = censored?
Must be the Russians !
I wrote to say that heathline.com is an interesting website
and I’ll give it a trial for a week. Thanks for the tip/
I wonder why you’re seeing empty boxes. ??? Maybe it was my bolded text and maybe that’s what is missing…??…
What is puzzling is WHY the continued push for EVERYONE to get vaccinated… even though we have all these breakthrough cases.
Those who have survived COVID obviously have antibodies very likely to be longer lasting than those from a vaccine.
Children are at less risk from COVID than from the vaccine.
This forced vaccination push is about training the public to obey the government, and forcing those who object to obey, by our socialist, and becoming fascist, Biden Administration.
This is how National Socialists began their rule in Germany. They had German Jews as scapegoats. Biden has the “unvaxxed” as scapegoats. … along with white supremacists, who exist mainly in leftist imaginations.
Given the Israeli experience with the vaccines wearing off after six months, being only 39% effective with the Delta variant, combined with the worst adverse side effects in the US of any vaccine in our history, the COVID vaccines have to be considered to be very expensive failures.
Socialist governments do not admit failures. If they can get almost everyone vaccinated, there will no longer be a “control group” of non-vaccinated people for comparison. At that point it will be easier to claim “things would have been much worse without the vaccines”.
Nice article with good references.
IMHO (as someone with some graduate level immunology training) what’s likely going on, at least in part, with the vaccines and breakthru infections is the immune response provided by the vaccines takes a while to ramp up. During that time, one may have symptoms and even be infective. However, the general infection will be lessened and may be quite self-limiting without additional treatment.
If properly treated early on with appropriate therapeutics, both the infected vaccinated and unvaccinated may have a mild infection and end up with enhanced natural immunity that is superior to that offered by the current vaccines… These conclusions awaits conformation from addition research but follows the general history of most immunologic behavior.
IMHO, a case might be made for making relatively safe therapeutics (such as Ivormectin) available over the counter to promote early treatment instead of waiting days for an MD Rx. Some of these therapeutics also exhibit preventive prophylactic properties. Yes, there’s a list of contraindications — these can be sorted out by competent pharmacies and appropriate self reliant choices.
Excellent article, Sharyl. Thanks much for this work. As a professor facing a vaccine mandate, having just finally decided to take an antibody test (I and my whole family had Covid in February of this year) and received positive results, the data and metadata you’ve gathered here, especially the numerous scientific studies (I presume all or mostly peer-reviewed), are extremely helpful to me and my family. I think there may be a typo in the August 6 update on Kentucky. Where it says “Among those who had Covid and were not later reinfected,” it seems that the “not” should be removed, based on the context. Am I reading this incorrectly?
(Please note that I have just made two slight edits to own my previous post. Please post this one, if you choose to post one at all.)
The sentence is correct “not later reinfected…” a majority of that population was unvaccinated. Let me say that I have spent two decades reading scientific literature, studies and data and I find this CDC analysis to be very obtuse in the wording and the choosing of test subjects, etc. Very tortured!
Sharyl, I’ve always enjoyed your work, this is a home run! I’m a respiratory therapist and was glad to see this and the great, factual data to go with it. I can’t believe how often I see doctors walking outside, alone, on the medical school campus with a mask on! Paper/cloth masks worn, most times improperly, do as much good to keep the virus out as a chain link fence does to keep mosquitos out of your back yard. Blessings!
Good point, peaxeandquietplease. Nearly EVERYTHING we hear is predicated on a faulty test….which, in turn, makes any conjecture about the statistics questionable…including, unfortunately, the immunity of those who previously tested “positive.” Even if they had symptoms, what they were infected with could almost just as likely been the flu…or simply zinc or vit D deficiency! Otherwise, exxellent article as always, Sharyl!