New Jersey senator says COVID survivors should have same benefits as fully vaccinated people – CBS New York

MONTVILLE, NJ (CBSNewYork) – There is a new effort to provide a legal route to the denial of Covid vaccine while enjoying the benefits of shooting.

It has become increasingly difficult to get to places of entertainment, bars, restaurants, even at work, without the COVID vaccine.

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With that in mind, New Jersey State Senator Joe Pennacchio says he’s working on legislation to provide another option.

“We want to make sure that there are legal grounds for people to refuse the vaccine if they have already been infected and are showing symptoms of COVID,” he told Kevin Rincon of CBS2.

He says people who have recovered should be treated the same as those who are fully vaccinated, and that doesn’t mean he’s opposed to the vaccine.

“If you’re elderly, if you’re frail, if you have comorbid issues, I absolutely think you should consider getting the vaccine,” Pennacchio said.

COVID VACCINE

One of the reasons he’s pushing for change is a new Israeli study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, which suggests that natural immunity is 13 times stronger than having two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. .

This same study, however, found to have had COVID and obtaining the vaccine provided another layer of protection.

As for the doctors, they say it is about stopping the spread of the virus.

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“If someone has a very serious illness, as you can imagine, they have a deeper immune response. If a person has an asymptomatic or mild illness, they may have a less robust immune response, ”said Dr Suraj Saggar, head of infectious diseases at Holy Name Hospital.

All of this means that natural immunities are different from person to person. The symptoms too.

“Yes fortunately the case fatality rate is very low, but it’s not something that we just want everyone to catch the disease and get well and think there are no complications downstream. It is not, ”said Saggar.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

One area Pennacchio focuses on is that of children. He says they are often asymptomatic.

“You should pause if you are a parent to consider whether or not you want to prick this child with a needle in your arm,” he said.

But Dr Saggar disagrees, saying there are two things to consider.

“We are seeing a massive increase in the number of children hospitalized compared to the first, second and third waves… And understand, we are not living in a bubble. A child can still easily pass on to an elderly parent, an elderly grandparent living at home, ”he said.

This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that, as schools reopen across the country, they have seen nearly half a million new cases of COVID in children.

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Kevin Rincon of CBS2 contributed to this report.