1. There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. Therefore, there is no scientific justification to treat vaccinated people differently from unvaccinated people.
Clinical trials for the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines were not designed to observe asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 or the effect of the vaccine on the spread (transmission) of COVID-19. Consequently, in its briefing document for each vaccine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that “it is possible that asymptomatic infections may not be prevented as effectively as symptomatic infections” and “data are limited to assess the effect of the vaccine against transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from individuals who are infected despite vaccination.” Furthermore, “additional evaluations including data from clinical trials and from vaccine use post-authorization will be needed to assess the effect of the vaccine in preventing virus shedding and transmission, in particular in individuals with asymptomatic infection.”2-7
2. There is evidence that previous SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 infection is more effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 infection than at least one of the COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, those previously infected with COVID-19 should have at least the same rights as those vaccinated for COVID-19.
The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial included over 2,000 subjects that had contracted SARS-CoV-2 before the study. The trial recorded the incidence of COVID-19 in that unvaccinated group at least 28 days after the vaccination of the other subjects in the study. The COVID-19 incidence of the unvaccinated group with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0.1% (2/2,021), whereas the COVID-19 incidence of vaccinated subjects was 0.59% (113/19,306). These data suggest that there are six times more cases of COVID-19 in vaccinated subjects than in unvaccinated subjects previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. This also means that an unvaccinated person previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 has 99.9% chance of being protected from a repeat infection.7,8 Of note, as of April 17, 2021, there have been 165.7 million SARS-CoV-2 infections in the U.S., which is 50.2% of the U.S. population.9
Treating people differently depending on their COVID-19 vaccination status is not based on science.