George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
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Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#2Disappointing, given the evidence that "natural" immunity has been shown to be less effective at producing neutralizing antibodies than many of the vaccines that are available[1]
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#318 months into the pandemic we have a rapidly evolving virus, waning vaccine efficacy, and breakthrough infections common enough to warrant a third booster dose.
It would be silly to risk altering one’s broad-based, naturally acquired immunity by taking an unnecessary vaccine dose. Just like no one got a chickenpox vaccine after contracting the disease there is no need to get a COVID vaccine after contracting the disease.
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#4Disappointing, given the evidence that "natural" immunity has been shown to be less effective at producing neutralizing antibodies than many of the vaccines that are available[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01377-8
Could you point at the part of this paper that summarizes this result? I'm not seeing any comparison in this paper between the neutralizing response of a vaccination vs natural infection.
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#5Disappointing, given the evidence that "natural" immunity has been shown to be less effective at producing neutralizing antibodies than many of the vaccines that are available[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01377-8
"You get a broader immune response after being infected with the virus than vaccination.
Whether you've had Moderna or Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca, your body is learning to spot just one thing - the spike protein.
This is the critical part of the virus to make antibodies to, and the results - by keeping most out of hospital - have been spectacular.
But having the other 28 proteins to target too, would give T-cells far more to go at."
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#6Disappointing, given the evidence that "natural" immunity has been shown to be less effective at producing neutralizing antibodies than many of the vaccines that are available[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01377-8
"You get a broader immune response after being infected with the virus than vaccination. Whether you've had Moderna or Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca, your body is learning to spot just one thing - the spike protein. This is the critical part of the virus to make antibodies to, and the results - by keeping most out of hospital - have been spectacular. But having the other 28 proteins to target too, would give T-cells f…
[deleted]
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#718 months into the pandemic we have a rapidly evolving virus, waning vaccine efficacy, and breakthrough infections common enough to warrant a third booster dose. It would be silly to risk altering one’s broad-based, naturally acquired immunity by taking an unnecessary vaccine dose. Just like no one got a chickenpox vaccine after contracting the disease there is no need to get a COVID vaccine after contracting the dis…
The CDC reccomends that adults over 50 who might have had chicken pox get the Shingrix (Shingles) vaccine.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/in...
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#8[deleted]
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#9Disappointing, given the evidence that "natural" immunity has been shown to be less effective at producing neutralizing antibodies than many of the vaccines that are available[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01377-8
> given the evidence that "natural" immunity has been shown to be less effective at producing neutralizing antibodies than many of the vaccines that are available
Down-voted because this is misinformation.
First of all the citation you provided does not support your claim at all.
Second, a large body of literature suggests that vaccination and natural infection induce a robust and durable immune response that is mostly similar [1][2], but slightly different. One of the primary differences is that natural infection induces an immune response that includes nucleocapsid protein antibodies, whereas vaccination with the current spike protein focused mRNA vaccines does not [3]. Another significant difference is that vaccination induces an immune response that is more highly targeted toward the spike protein RBD compared to natural infection [4].
There is absolutely no scientific consensus that vaccination offers better protection than natural infection, or vice-versa. None of the papers cited in either of our comments make that claim.
[1] Longitudinal analysis shows durable and broad immune memory after SARS-CoV-2 infection with persisting antibody responses and memory B and T cells https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-37...
[2] Rapid induction of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells is associated with coordinated humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(21)00308-3
[3] Distinct SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Responses Elicited by Natural Infection and mRNA Vaccination https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.15.440089v4
[4] Antibodies elicited by mRNA-1273 vaccination bind more broadly to the receptor binding domain than do those from SARS-CoV-2 infection https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34103407/
Re: George Mason professor wins Covid antibody lawsuit as vaccine exemption
#10I vouched for OP - it is a factual description of a relevant current event that is pertinent to civil liberties.
IMO the presented argument is valid and well supported scientifically and legally. It will be very interesting to see if this sets any precedent for other institutions.
> GMU and other universities must stop ignoring science and cease forcing mandatory vaccines on even those with naturally acquired immunity
> Strangely, despite solid scientific evidence, GMU continues to refuse to recognize that Covid-19 vaccination is medically unnecessary for ALL students, faculty, and staff with naturally acquired immunity demonstrated with antibody testing.
> NCLA filed Professor Zywicki’s complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia on August 3, 2021, challenging GMU’s “reopening policy.”
> The policy, announced June 28, requires all faculty and staff members, including those who can demonstrate natural immunity through recovery from a prior Covid-19 infection, to disclose their vaccination status as “a prerequisite for eligibility for any merit pay increases,” unless they obtain a religious or medical exemption.
> On July 22, GMU emailed the policy to students and employees and threatened disciplinary action—including termination of employment—against any who do not comply with the vaccine mandate.
> Prof. Zywicki’s immunologist, Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, has advised him that, based on his personal health and immunity status, it is medically unnecessary to get a Covid-19 vaccine—and that it violates medical ethics to order unnecessary procedures.
> As a result of the exemption it granted, GMU is permitting Prof. Zywicki to remain unvaccinated for medical reasons.
> "Nevertheless, NCLA remains dismayed by GMU’s refusal — along with many other public and private universities and other employers — to recognize that the science establishes beyond any doubt that natural immunity is as robust or more so than vaccine immunity.”