Rand Paul: Cleveland Clinic Study Shows People Who Already Had COVID Don’t Need Vaccine

On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Rand Paul cited a Cleveland Clinic study which showed there was no difference in COVID-19 re-infection rates among unvaccinated people who already had the illness. 

As NBC Cleveland writes, “The study finds that anyone who previously tested positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection did not get additional benefits from the vaccine, which suggests the vaccines should be prioritized to people who haven’t gotten the infection.”

Paul tweeted, “Great news! Cleveland clinic study of 52,238 employees shows unvaccinated people who have had COVID 19 have no difference in re-infection rate than people who had COVID 19 and who took the vaccine.”

Cleveland Clinic Doctor Summarized The Study

Paul added, citing the study, “This information frees up millions of doses of vaccines for those not yet infected in places with vaccine shortages like India”

Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta writes of the study, which hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, “…individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection do not get additional benefits from vaccination, indicating that COVID-19 vaccines should be prioritized to individuals without prior infection.”

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Writing for News Medical Life Sciences, the doctor explained that it was based on 52,238 subjects, including Cleveland Clinic employees.

According to the results, the infection occurred “almost exclusively in participants who were not previously infected and were not vaccinated.”

Their Finding Points To Natural Immunity

“A positive RT-PCR test was considered to define SARS-CoV-2 infection,” Sinha Dutta explained. “The participants received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at an interval of 28 days.”

Dr. Sinha Dutta continued, “A participant was considered vaccinated after 14 days of receiving the 2nd vaccine dose. Similarly, a participant who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at least 42 days before the vaccination initiation was considered previously infected.”

The results?

“Of all enrolled participants, 5% had previous SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the doctor noted. “Compared to 59% of non-infected participants, only 47% of previously infected participants were vaccinated by the end of the study. About 63% of all vaccinated participants received the Moderna vaccine.”

The conclusion?

“Interestingly, no significant difference in COVID-19 incidence was observed between previously infected and currently unvaccinated participants, previously infected and currently vaccinated participants, and previously uninfected and currently vaccinated participants.”

However, the study hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, and News Medical Life Sciences notes in the disclaimer, “preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.”

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Paul And Fauci Tussled Over Natural Immunity

When Sen. Paul, who is a doctor, said in May that he was not getting vaccinated due to already having COVID-19, it was considered controversial.

The libertarian-leaning senator also tussled with top White House doctor Anthony Fauci in late May over whether those who had coronavirus needed to wear masks or get vaccinated, with Fauci saying they should and Paul rejecting that advice.

News Medical observed of the study, “With further statistical analysis, it was observed that the COVID-19 vaccination significantly reduced the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in previously uninfected participants but not in previously infected participants.”