Three Years Late, the Lancet Recognizes Natural Immunity

The public-health clerisy rediscovers a principle of immunology it derided throughout the pandemic

By Allysia Finley. Excerpts:

"The Lancet medical journal this month published a review of 65 studies that concluded prior infection with Covid—i.e., natural immunity—is at least as protective as two doses of mRNA vaccines."

"after nearly three years of public-health officials’ dismissing the same hypothesis."

"The concept of natural immunity isn’t scientifically controversial, yet it was disparaged by public-health officials who associated it with opposition to lockdowns and the Great Barrington Declaration in autumn 2020."

"the declaration called for a new pandemic strategy with a focus on protecting the elderly and vulnerable while letting those at low risk for severe illness “live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection.”"

"the declaration’s central premise was correct: “As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all—including the vulnerable—falls.” This is what has happened over the past three years."

"Public-health officials in the U.S. nonetheless dug in and refused to provide exemptions from vaccine mandates for those with natural immunity, as many European countries did.

Meantime, tech companies suppressed discussions of natural immunity. Twitter flagged posts that claimed natural immunity was superior to vaccines as “misleading.” Facebook’s misinformation policy still restricts distribution of content that “implicitly discourages vaccination by advocating for alternatives” such as “natural immunity.”"