Analysis: What Rand Paul gets wrong on vaccines
“Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that I’m not getting vaccinated because I’ve already had the disease and I have natural immunity.”
Science says no.
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“Yes, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. That’s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible — although rare — that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again.”
Health and science aside, there’s also the symbolism and messaging question. If we know that a) herd immunity is the only way the country really returns to normal and b) the path to herd immunity runs through mass vaccinations, then the responsible thing for elected officials to do is advocate for people to get vaccinated.
When someone like Paul does the exact opposite, he sends the wrong kind of message: that getting vaccinated is about individual liberties and “Big Brother” (words he used in that same radio interview).
