Sarah Palin's Claims About Her 'Natural Immunity' From Covid Are Total BS
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Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin shared that the only way she'll get the Covid-19 vaccine is "over [her] dead body," she said during a Sunday interview at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona. She attributes not needing to get vaccinated to her "natural immunity" from the illness.
"Do you remember [CDC Director Dr. Anthony Fauci] said that if you had Covid, you would be naturally immune?" Palin, 57, added during the interview, reports the Daily Mail. "So at the time we were led to believe we wouldn't need to have the shot."
She claims that the experts have "changed their tune," calling for those who have had Covid to get vaccinated. To fact-check Palin, Dr. Fauci has not claimed that previous infection from Covid grants natural immunity.
"A recent study from South Africa found that the risk of reinfection by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is much higher than previous surges," Hannah Newman, MPH, the director of epidemiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, tells Men's Health. "So boosters are especially important in this current context."
According to Newman, previous infection with Covid-19 is not guaranteed protection against the virus, especially as the virus continues to mutate.
"All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, evolve over time though mutations that occur during [viral spread]," says Newman. "These changes can affect how the immune system recognizes and develops an immune response," meaning, your body may not fight the virus the same way with each reinfection.
Another crucial reason to get vaccinated? Antibodies gained from Covid infection don't last forever, explains Newman. "After the body recovers from a virus, the white blood cells that fight fought the infection die off and antibody levels decline over time," she says. "Sometimes this can allow a reinfection to take hold."
In short, even if you have had Covid-19 before, reinfection, and with a different variant, is still possible.
"Vaccine-induced immunity produces a fairly uniform response, and though breakthrough infections are possible, they are less likely and have been associated with considerably milder symptoms," explains Newman. "Our best defense against reinfection is vaccination (and booster doses when eligible), even if you’ve had COVID-19 in the past."
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