Natural Immunity is Real
Antibody testing and proof of infection in lieu of vaccination
You probably heard about the sit down Joe Rogan and Sanjay Gupta had in early October. Among other things, they talked about natural immunity from COVID-19. Joe Rogan has recovered from COVID-19 and believes that he has natural immunity to the disease. Sanjay Gupta doesn’t believe in natural immunity from COVID-19.
Before COVID-19 it was generally assumed that one had natural immunity from a disease if one had already recovered from it. In the US, however, recovering from COVID-19 doesn’t count and vaccination is recommended even to those who have already had the disease.
Natural immunity and vaccination
Here’s how Harold Buttram, MD — an old time family physician — explained the difference between natural immunity and vaccination to me when I was a young parent.
If the immune system is maintained “battle ready” by healthful living, adequate rest, sanitation, and simple and wholesome nutrition, then many diseases will pass as subclinical infections without actual illness, or if there is illness, it will be relatively mild. Under these circumstances, we may assume that small amounts of antigenic (infectious) material break through the outer defenses. This limited penetration…
