Is 'Natural Immunity' From COVID Better Than a Vaccine?

[IsItJustMe]

Source: Apoorva Mandavilli The New York Times

On the heels of last month’s news of stunning results from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s experimental COVID-19 vaccines, Sen. Rand Paul tweeted a provocative comparison.

The new vaccines were 90% and 94.5% effective, Paul said. But “naturally acquired” COVID-19 was even better, at 99.9982%, he claimed.

Paul, R-Ky., is one of many people who, weary of lockdowns and economic losses, have extolled the benefits of contracting the coronavirus. The senator was diagnosed with the disease this year and has argued that surviving a bout of COVID-19 confers greater protection, and poses fewer risks, than getting vaccinated.

The trouble with that logic is that it’s difficult to predict who will survive an infection unscathed, said Jennifer Gommerman, an immunologist at the University of Toronto. Given all of the unknowns — like a region’s hospital capacity, or the strength of a person’s immune response — choosing the disease over the vaccine is “a very bad decision,” she said.

The primary advantage of a vaccine is that it’s predictable and safe, she said. “It’s been optimally tailored to generate an effective immune response.”

But what do we know about how the immunity from a prior infection compares with the protection given by the new vaccines? And what if you have already had COVID — is it safe to be vaccinated? We asked experts to weigh in on the latest evidence.

Which produces a stronger immune response: a natural infection or a vaccine?...CONTINUED...

Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/natural-immunity-covid-better-vaccine-163042399.html
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Answered some of my questions. Good info.

[Siwsan]

1. My initial response is maybe, but only if you survive it and don't develop chronic health issues

After what my brother went though when he had Covid, and having lost a friend to Covid, I'd sure as hell rather not risk it. For all I know, I may have caught it from my brother and remained asymptomatic (he was at my house twice, while likely very contagious. This was early in the pandemic, before we really knew the incredible risks of exposure.) I'm not even going to hesitate to get the vaccination.

[Baclava]

2. If you get disease you have potential for long term problems, blood clots of all kinds, strokes, etc

The vaccine just blocks certain proteins to stop virus, and gives you same antibodies

[intrepidity]

3. Well, as long as he has a way to pay for his Viagra nt

[CentralMass]

4. Well one thing is certain, Rand Paul is a major f'n @$$hole.

[dalton99a]

5. Kick

[Klaralven]

6. Actually, no.

Two doses of 1–50 ?g of BNT162b1 (Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) elicited robust CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses and strong antibody responses, with RBD-binding IgG concentrations clearly above those seen in serum from a cohort of individuals who had recovered from COVID-19.

From
COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b1 elicits human antibody and TH1 T cell responses

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2814-7

[Tribetime]

21. 👍 my understanding is the vaccine is more effective

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. This was discussed last night on CNN.

Fauci seemed to think the vaccines will work just as well.

They also interviewed a husband and wife who took part in a clinical trial. The woman assumed that she got the actual vaccine because, between the two of them, she was the only one who felt sick (temporarily) after the second dose. Then they were both tested for antibodies weeks later, and she had LOTS of them. Her husband, who had already assumed he received a placebo, had none.

[LisaM]

8. But what about stopping the spread?

Vaccines seem to have the overwhelming advantage on that front.

[IsItJustMe]

16. The science is not yet in on that.

From my understanding, the vaccine is about 95% effective in keeping you from getting ill if you come in contact with the virus. Here's the kicker though. There is no evidence, as of yet, that you can't get the virus and spread it to others, even after taking the vaccine. I am not a scientist, but I would think that it would be very unlikely.

I seem to have read somewhere that another vaccine (AstraZeneca/University of Oxford) looked at that and they basically said that you would not pass the virus if you got their vaccine with a waiting period after having received it.

I am sure we will be learning as we go along.

[smirkymonkey]

9. Maybe, but Rand Paul still has an 80% chance of getting the shit beat out of him again by his

neighbor, so he's not entirely in the clear.

[Blues Heron]

10. wrong - plenty of people get it twice

He's so full of it as always.

[Iggo]

11. Rand Paul? What's he selling?

[PSPS]

12. Short answer is "no." This is more "everyone catches it and we have herd immunity" nonsense.

Rand Paul is totally unqualified to give any medical opinions outside of ophthalmology. He's even worse than Atlas, who is a radiologist and was telling people masks don't work.

[Cadfael]

13. Has Rand Paul seen this?

Link to tweet

?s=21

[roamer65]

14. Spread this one far and wide.

[stopdiggin]

15. a false equivalency

with the dangers involved in actually contracting the disease. And then the dangers of actually passing on the disease .. (potentially to people that you might actually give a sh*t about). And then there's the part about just being a dipsh*t in general ....

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. With most diseases, the immunity you get from getting the disease

is lifelong and permanent. Vaccines are do not necessarily confer such immunity.

However, as has already been pointed out, we aren't fully certain at this point if getting Covid-19 lends permanent immunity. There are some reports of people getting it twice. And many, many reports of people with lingering side effects.

I will add that I've bee wondering if a person who has already gotten this virus actually needs to get the vaccine. My semi-informed conclusion is that it can't possibly hurt.

[IsItJustMe]

18. It would probably boost their immune system even more.

Something I have been thinking about but have not seen it reported on is this: Can a Covid-19 vaccine shot help someone who has caught covid? In other words, could the Covid vaccine be used as a treatment for Covid?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. A vaccine is never a treatment.

A vaccine is intended to prevent the disease. Never to cure it.

[IsItJustMe]

29. I did not know that. Thanks for the Info.

[forthemiddle]

22. I don't question that EVERYONE needs the vaccine/immunity

But I do wonder if you have already had the disease, do you still get the vaccine, and if it is recommended to still get the vaccine should you go to the back of the line?

I haven't heard an answer to that. My Brother in Law tested positive (he works in a long term health care facility) but never had any symptoms. Will he be first in the queue with other Nursing Home workers, or will he go to the back of the line. I am not sure if he has ever been checked for antibodies.

[Meowmee]

24. Everyone needs to get it who can

that is the only way to shut this down eventually and curtail the spread. We don't know how long immunity lasts if you have contracted the virus. Some people don't develop antibodies, others have t and b cell immunity, others developed antibodies and then don't have them on a later test. Positive tests for the virus can be wrong as can antibody tests and so on. We don't know yet if there will be other strains and it will be similar to influenza so this may end up being a yearly shot. We do know a small number of people seem to have been re- infected by a different strain and in some cases it may have been a reactivation of the virus in the body.

[GoCubsGo]

23. Why doesn't he ask that to the people who have died from this thing?

"Natural immunity." What fucking bullshit. Are three thousand people a day going to die from the vaccine? No, they are not. This goddamned imbecile needs to have any medical licenses he has revoked. He's so stupid, he likely cheated his way through medical school.

[Meowmee]

25. agree, take his license away for good along with a lot of others

[mercuryblues]

26. Fuck Rand Paul

Is there even such a thing as natural immunity? My brother's best friend has Covid for the 2nd time. The first time he had a "mild" case. This time he landed in the hospital for 2 days.

Long term natural immunity may not exist. At least not for everyone.

[milestogo]

27. Libertarian science.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. FUCK Rand Paul, evil spawn of Ron Paul.

This thing is "novel" so there is little "natural immunity". That is why it's "novel" and it has been more destructive and lethal than other coronaviruses.

This crap is doing all sorts of things to people (including damage to some vital organs) depending on where it takes hold in the body, and despite someone having had "minor symptoms".

[Hugin]

30. And, risk Erectile Dysfunction?

Go for it dumbass, I'll hold your beer with a six foot pair of tongs.

If it means less like you.