*By Julie Barrett, Founder, Conservative Ladies of Washington
For the majority of my adult life I have helped individuals live healthier lives. I have coached hundreds of people in nutrition and fitness. I’ve worked with them to help them build good, healthy habits and kick the back ones. Personally, I’ve always been a health and fitness freak. I rarely go a day without some kind of workout – I have to be really sick to take a day off. In the years I spent bodybuilding, I was very rigid about my nutrition and making sure I had my macronutrients just right, my gallon of water a day and, of course, a handful of vitamins and minerals to support all that. While I’m no longer bodybuilding, the habits of taking care of my body remain.
Over the last 18 months it has amazed me how we have not seen more widespread media coverage teaching people the importance of exercise and nutrition in supporting a healthy immune system. We know that people who have a strong immune system are in a much better position to fight off Covid-19 and will likely experience much milder symptoms than those who do not. We know that people who have a healthy BMI (body mass index) are at a lower risk for contracting Covid-19, but we haven’t seen much marketing or news encouraging weight loss.
Even more “interesting” is the fact that there is not widespread testing for Covid-19 antibodies. I had Covid in November of 2020. In December, I tested positive for the Covid-19 antibodies when I went for my regularly scheduled blood donation at BloodworksNW. At this time, they were testing all donors for antibodies so they could participate in a convalescent covid plasma program that was used to treat hospitalized covid patients. Excited to be able to do something to help people and maybe be part of the scientific testing of people who have the antibodies, I signed up to donate to the covid plasma program.
When the vaccines came out in February/March, the convalescent covid plasma program was brought to an immediate halt. Vaccinated individuals were unable to donate to the program and my personal guess is that the CDC or FDA did not want to encourage people not to get vaccinated, therefore, they forced an end to this program. Again, I do not know this for fact, it is merely speculation. The timing of the end of antibody testing and the halt of the convalescent plasma program and the availability of the vaccine is coincidental at best.
If we’re truly about the “science” when it comes to this virus, you would think that the “scientists” would want to do more research on people who have the antibodies. You would expect that they would want to do tests and trials to see how this group of people responds to the virus and its variants over the long term. And yet, testing for antibodies in many places around the country is not even available. They don’t want people to know if they have the antibodies.
A recent study on August 25, 2021, “demonstrated that natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose vaccine-induced immunity.” Comparing SARS-CoV-2 natural immunity to vaccine-induced immunity: reinfections versus breakthrough infections (medrxiv.org)
I think it’s right for us to question the lack of interest from our government regarding the research and more widespread testing of Covid antibodies in our population. The aforementioned study is just one of many that supports the idea that our own immune systems and natural antibodies do a far better job than a vaccine of protecting us against future infection. Regardless of how you feel about the vaccine, we should all want to have as much information as possible about this virus, how to protect ourselves and our families.
I am personally not “anti vax”, however, the demands of our government to get a vaccine that has not been adequately tested and tried, that is still under EUA only and the clear intention of withholding scientific information about natural antibodies doesn’t instill any trust. When the government steps in with mandates and demands for citizens to be vaccinated or fear losing their job without unemployment benefits, inability to travel or visit businesses and institutions, we should be very concerned and we should be demanding honest answers. The idea that we have to show “papers” to be admitted to go places and do things, is unAmerican and we as free people, must question and resist this.
