Recently-tapped Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo blasted vaccine mandates and politicians and some public health officials’ “denial” of “natural immunity,” during a rally in Clearwater on Thursday.
Questioning mandates for the COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Ladapo noted that people can still get infected with the virus even if they are vaccinated, adding that it’s anti-scientific to discount natural immunity — that is, gaining antibodies by fighting a COVID-19 infection, not receiving the vaccine.
“Infections can still happen whether people [are] vaccinated or not,” the surgeon general explained. “This idea that vaccine mandates are needed to create safe workplaces is a complete lie, it’s continued to be repeated, and you should know, that it’s not at all backed by science.”
Ladapo noted that there might be vaccine hesitancy due to “the climate of scientific dishonesty about the science,” highlighting the “denial” of “natural immunity.”
In a “fact-check” from the Tallahassee Democrat, the news outlet conceded that there is a “growing body of evidence” suggesting “natural immunity exists against COVID-19.” The report added that some reports suggest “natural immunity plus vaccination provides even stronger protection […] [b]ut it remains unclear how much protection it provides and how long it will last.”
The Tallahassee Democrat also acknowledged that health expert Dr. Monica Gandhi of the University of California, San Francisco, agreed with Dr. Ladapo.
“To deny natural immunity does not generate trust,” she told USA Today.
Moreover, as highlighted by The Daily Wire in early October, Johns Hopkins’ Dr. Marty Makary similarly ridiculed blanket vaccine mandates that bizarrely discount natural immunity, which he said studies have shown to be 27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity:
Makary, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and editor in chief of MedPage Today, told “Morning Wire” that public health leaders’ hypothesis on natural and vaccinated immunity has proven to be “backwards.”
“The data on natural immunity are now overwhelming,” stressed Makary. “It turns out the hypothesis that our public health leaders had that vaccinated immunity is better and stronger than natural immunity was wrong. They got it backwards. And now we’ve got data from Israel showing that natural immunity is 27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity. And that supports 15 other studies.”
In August, Makary wrote an op-ed at U.S. News, titled “Why COVID-19 Vaccines Should Not Be Required for All Americans,” in which the professor argued that a more science-based approach to vaccination must be deployed.
Since Makary’s op-ed was published, vaccine mandates have become increasingly commonplace, particularly in deep blue states like New York and California.
“It’s ruining the lives of people who are getting fired,” Makary told The Daily Wire’s “Morning Wire.”
“Nurses, who are heroes, are now getting laid off. Soldiers are getting dishonorably discharged,” said Makary, an apparent reference to an Army announcement last month that soldiers may face possible discharge if not vaccinated within three months. “They’ve got immunity. It’s just not the type that our public health officials have sanctioned,” Makary said.
“This is a failure of government, not a failure of science,” he emphasized.
“But how about some flexibility? How about recognizing natural immunity and allowing those who have circulating antibodies to get credit. That’s how they do it in parts of Europe, and that’s how they do it in Israel,” Makary offered.
Related: Johns Hopkins Doctor Criticizes Vaccine Mandates, Stresses Natural Immunity