According to the Daily Mail, one reason more Americans aren’t lining up faster for their vaccinations is because some have already had COVID and they believe they don’t need a vaccine. But, previous infection or not, the CDC insists that everyone does need the vaccine.
“That’s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19,” the CDC says on its website. “Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible — although rare — that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again.”
The CDC recommendation was issued just a week before the FDA issued a memorandum May 19, 2021, telling health care providers not to administer antibody tests to evaluate a person’s immunity, “especially after the person received a COVID-19 vaccination,” as the tests can’t determine what level of protection the vaccine provides.
“More research is needed in people who have received a COVID-19 vaccination,” the FDA said in its statement. “Be aware that if you have a positive test result on a SARS-CoV-2 antibody test, it is possible you were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.”
In fact, vaccinated people may actually test negative for COVID antibodies if they haven’t had a natural infection, the FDA said. The point is, both the CDC and FDA are saying that everyone needs to be vaccinated, even if they have already had COVID, because they don’t know how long immunity lasts, either naturally or through vaccination.
In other news, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has served as the face of the U.S. health care leadership for the duration of the pandemic, said that vaccinated people will need a booster dose within a year.
SOURCES:
Daily Mail May 19, 2021
FDA May 19, 2021
CDC May 12, 2021
Daily Mail May 19, 2021