TOTALLY NOT A CULT:

One version of the argument implies that there's no point in getting vaccinated, since natural immunity is more effective. (Never mind that, unlike a vaccine, acquiring natural immunity first requires you to get a potentially deadly infection.) Another variation suggests that people who are unvaccinated and have already experienced COVID shouldn't feel pressured to get a shot, because their natural immunity is sufficient to protect them. This point sounds more level-headed, but it's also misleading.

We'll get to why in a moment. But first, it's important to recognize the extent to which the gospel of natural immunity has come to dominate right-wing media. On Fox News, viewers routinely hear that natural immunity is superior to getting a Pfizer or Modern shot. Mark Levin says it's "stronger than the vaccine"; Sean Hannity says it's "27 times more effective"; Tucker Carlson says those with "natural immunity are safer than most people." Ben Carson, the former surgeon, presidential candidate, and Trump Administration housing secretary, often appears on Fox--introduced as a "real expert" about COVID--to claim, erroneously, that in contrast to "people who are getting immunity by vaccines," "people with natural immunity seem to have a much better resistance to the disease and to its variants."

Republican senators are peddling the same line. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah says studies show "natural immunity is more effective than vaccines." Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas says members of the armed forces shouldn't have to get vaccinated because "many already have natural immunity which can be better than the vaccine." On Monday, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted, preposterously, that tennis star Novak Djokovic--who has been infected but not vaccinated--"likely has more natural immunity now than two dozen boosters."

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