Natural Immunity and COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

2 minute read

President Biden recently announced sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Federal employees must now be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Private employers with 100 or more employees must implement the same measure or allow weekly COVID-19 testing as a vaccine substitute.

Not much is known about the emergency temporary standard (ETS) that will apply to private employers. Organizations want to know which exceptions there may be to the ETS requirements such has religious beliefs, disabilities that prevent immunization, and natural immunity.

Natural immunity is a term used for the indefinite period of time after COVID-19 infection where an individual is “immune” from contracting the disease again. The question among some is, “Once an individual is infected with COVID-19, do they need to get vaccinated or is their immunity sufficient?”

Making an exception for naturally immune employees would be problematic. It would be impossible to verify if each person maintained the right number of antibodies to prevent COVID-19 infection. Each situation would need to be reviewed individually and likely would require a doctor to weigh in.

Health experts don’t know how long natural immunity lasts or how much protection it offers compared to vaccination. So, it’s predicted that the ETS will not include it as an exception for getting vaccinated. It should also be noted that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all eligible people get vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of whether they’ve been infected before.

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This blog is intended to be a compilation of information and resources pulled from federal, state, and local agencies. This is not intended to be legal advice. For up to the minute information and guidance on COVID-19, please follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and your local health organizations.