Pennacchio to Introduce Legislation that Would Treat Recovered COVID Patients No Different than Vaccinated Individuals

Senator Models New Legislation on Israel’s Public Health Policy

Senator Joe Pennacchio will introduce new legislation that would treat recovered COVID-19 patients the same as those who have been vaccinated under any vaccine mandate or passport scheme that may be implemented.

He said the bill addresses public concerns with President Biden’s decision to force vaccines on many Americans. Along with the Federal government, more private businesses, companies, and other venues are requiring “vaccine passports” for their workers and for the public to participate in their jobs, recreation, and other daily activities.

A recent study from Israel suggests that natural immunity confers 13 times the protection provided by two doses of Pfizer vaccines. This information comes after reports from Massachusetts that three-fourths of people infected with the Delta variant of COVID had been previously fully vaccinated.

“The science strongly suggests that people who have recovered from prior COVID-19 infections have a natural immunity that may offer a sufficient amount of protection to make additional vaccinations unnecessary,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “My new legislation would offer those with natural immunity as a result of infection the same rights and protections as those who have been vaccinated under any vaccine mandate or passport scheme that may be implemented.”

Pennacchio stressed that continued studies, science, and data should determine the best course of COVID therapeutics and vaccination and that public policy must be based on transparent identifiable science and data.

Science continues to catch up and is contributing to our knowledge of COVID and how our bodies respond both naturally and through vaccines. Using antibody levels alone to determine a person’s protection against COVID has come into question. Specialized T and M memory cells developed by our bodies to ward off previous infections may be an equal, if not better, indicator of a person’s COVID protection.

Studies have shown that these memory cells continue to evolve and become more potent and more broadly based in patients recovering from COVID but stalled after two months in a vaccinated patient concluded a recent study in Rockefeller EDU/News.

Pennacchio questioned whether the administration of a booster should only be determined by antibody levels that seem to decrease two months after vaccination or take into account a person’s memory cell response.

The Senator strongly advised against people taking it upon themselves to encourage COVID infections upon themselves as a way of acquiring natural immunity. He also questioned why New Jersey’s public health policy is not following the science and data.

Italy, France and Germany have begun to recognize acquired immunity and now recommend a single “hybrid’ dose of vaccine to those people previously infected with symptomatic COVID. Israel’s green pass allows for both vaccinated and recovered COVID patients to access restaurants, gyms, theaters, and other venues.

“It is unfortunate that the citizens of New Jersey are subjected to changing and inconsistent public health messages, which has fed into public cynicism and resistance to the administration’s public health compliance,” added Pennacchio. “At this point, the science and data point to an advantage that recovered COVID patients have over vaccinated patients.  Minimally, public policy with regard to access to work and other venues should treat them the same.”