Harvard professor exposes vaccine passports as “scientific nonsense”

A Harvard Medical School (HMS) professor has slammed vaccine passports as “scientific nonsense.” HMS professor Martin Kulldorff made the remark following the publication of a study saying natural immunity offers better protection against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) than vaccines. Given the study’s results, Kulldorff remarked that vaccine passports are “discriminatory and unethical.”The professor tweeted: “Vaccine mandates are not only scientific nonsense, [but] they are also discriminatory and unethical.” Kulldorff argued that vaccine passports favored vaccinated professionals over working class people who have developed natural immunity against COVID-19.

Kuldorff cited an Israeli study that looked at the country’s mostly vaccinated population. In one analysis of more than 32,000 vaccinated Israelis, researchers at the Kahn Sagol Maccabi Research & Innovation Center (KSM) found that vaccinated people were 27 times more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 than the unvaccinated. They also found that vaccinated people were eight times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19.

In a separate analysis, KSM researchers found that people injected with COVID-19 vaccines have a higher chance of catching the virus than unvaccinated COVID-19 survivors. In fact, vaccinated individuals without prior infection were six to 13 times more likely to get infected than unvaccinated individuals previously infected with the coronavirus.

“The natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the [B16172] delta variant … than two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine,” the study said. Israel had administered the two-dose mRNA vaccine to a large portion of its population.

Two medical experts lauded the Israeli study’s discovery that natural immunity is better than vaccine-induced protection. Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research Institute in California said: “We continue to underestimate the importance of natural infection immunity … especially when [infection] is recent.” Meanwhile, Dr. Charlotte Thalin of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute described the Israeli study’s discovery as a “textbook example of how natural immunity is really better than vaccination.”

Authorities ignore natural immunity, mandate vaccination

Despite the evidence, many governments worldwide still prefer vaccine-induced immunity for their citizens. In fact, many have instituted policies pushing for COVID-19 vaccination. France and Italy are among the many countries which now require their citizens to show proof of vaccination when stepping outdoors. (Related: Policymakers ignoring natural immunity to covid in favor of “vaccine” immunity.)

French President Emmanuel Macron made his first announcement regarding vaccine passports in July 2021, with the French Parliament expediting its legislation. The French Constitutional Council (CC), the country’s highest constitutional authority, later expanded the vaccine passport law a month after its announcement.

Since July 21, 2021, cinemas, concert halls and theme parks in France with a capacity of more than 15 people have been asking individuals to show their COVID-19 health pass before they could gain entry. Under the CC’s Aug. 5 mandate, the scope of the pass was expanded to include cafes, restaurants and lodging establishments. The health pass is now also required for long-distance travel either by bus, train or airplane.

Meanwhile, officials in Italy announced on Aug. 6 that the Green Pass, the country’s version of a vaccine passport, will be required in a number of establishments. Authorities ordered gyms, swimming pools, sports stadiums, restaurants, museums, spas, casinos and cinemas to ask customers for their Green Pass before allowing them entry.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also expanded the pass to include the use of trains, airplanes, ships and inter-city coaches beginning Sept. 1. Prior to this, the pass was only required for travel within the European Union. Italians visiting care homes for the elderly and attending large wedding receptions within the country were likewise mandated to show their Green Pass even before the new order was announced.

In an article published Aug. 30, Foundation for Economic Education Managing Editor Jon Miltimore expressed his opposition to “morally dubious” vaccine passports that limit freedom of movement – a basic human right. “Vaccine passports would be immoral and a massive government overreach, even in the absence of [the Israeli study’s] findings. There is simply no historical parallel for governments attempting to restrict the movements of healthy people over a respiratory virus in this manner,” he wrote.

Miltimore also said that since there is ample evidence of natural immunity providing far superior protection compared to vaccines, governments doubling down on vaccine passports “becomes not just wrong, but absurd.” (Related: GREAT NEWS: Natural immunity to coronavirus is comprehensive and DURABLE – study.)

By Ramon Tomey