Image FDA.gov [retrieved 11-Nov-2021]
Short answer: Don’t know.
Federal law allows employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees who’ve been infected with COVID-19 and those who haven’t, and the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-testing mandate won’t likely create an exception for those with “natural immunity,” legal experts say.1
I’ve searched high and low for an explanation for why people with natural immunity are being required to get vaccinated. I haven’t found any reasonable explanations. This topic seems like it ought to be thoroughly discussed in the media, as people’s access to air travel, higher education, employment, etc. is being threatened by mandates.
If you dig hard enough, you can find the Israeli study, currently undergoing peer review. It doesn’t seem to be of interest to mainstream media. It shows that natural immunity is vastly superior to a vaccine. Here’s a discussion of it from Johns Hopkins University:
Comparing SARS-CoV-2 Natural Immunity to Vaccine-Induced Immunity
This Society for Human Resource Management article1 encapsulates most of what I’ve been able to find elsewhere:
- Individual immunity levels after infection vary based on a variety of factors, including the severity of the previous infection.
Immunity levels vary after vaccination also. So no difference here. - A CDC study suggests that full vaccination provides additional protection.
The goal is immunity, not even better immunity. If this were not so, proof of taking the J&J vaccine would not count as being vaccinated as the J&J vaccine has been shown to not be as effective as Moderna or Pfizer, as the Yale School of Medicine points out:
Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: How Are They Different? - It would be impossible for employers to be able to say with any accuracy which of their employees maintain sufficient protective antibodies from a prior infection to prevent them from getting or transmitting the disease.
The same holds true for those vaccinated. - It’s not certain how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19.
The same holds true for those vaccinated. - Studies have shown that vaccination provides a strong boost in protection in people who have recovered from COVID-19.
Improved protection is not being mandated. Only the vaccination. - An employer that mandates vaccines demonstrates that it cares for all of its employees and wants to ensure a safe workplace.
Virtue signaling is a detestable practice when it comes to people’s lives and livelihoods. - Some say incorrectly “I already got COVID, so I can’t get it again”.
That is true, you can get it again. It is also true about the vaccinated3. - It would be difficult to know whether an employee had COVID-19.
Take an antibody test.
From the CDC FAQ page2:
- How long does protection from a COVID-19 vaccine last?
It’s not yet known how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. Recent studies show that protection against the virus may decrease over time. This reduction in protection has led the CDC to recommend certain groups get a booster shot at least 6 months after completing their initial vaccination series.
1 Is ‘Natural Immunity’ a Valid Exception to Vaccine Mandates?
2 Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
3 Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tests positive for COVID-19