Natural Immunity to COVID Exists, So Why Are There No Federal Guidelines?
Dr. Thomas Yadegar is the medical director of the intensive care unit at Providence Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he oversees twenty physicians at two hospitals. In this one-on-one interview, Yadegar talks about the topic of natural immunity from COVID (the immunity a person receives from contracting the disease versus getting a vaccination).
Yadegar states how, when the pandemic first hit, there was concern that those who contracted COVID-19 could get it again. Given that since then we have begun to see increasing evidence of the effectiveness of natural immunity, he finds it “alarming” that, nearly twenty months later and with numerous studies having been conducted, there are still no concrete recommendations for people who developed natural immunity due to having had COVID. For example, "there are other countries that are recommending different vaccine requirements based on whether you've had the virus or not."
Yadegar emphasizes the importance of trust between a doctor and patient, saying he makes a point of having honest discussions. If a patient of his is unvaccinated, he listens to their reasons before presenting his viewpoints. He says the medical community as a whole should listen to their patients and validate their thoughts and concerns, then present the data in a clear and concise manner. “The foundation needs to be honesty,” he says, adding that a medical professional would have a hard time regaining a patient’s trust once it’s lost.
“This virus has one goal in mind: to infect you and kill you,” Yadegar says, “and our job as nurses [and] doctors is to help you overcome that.”
