WASHINGTON — Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) opened a hearing on Thursday on “Investigating Pandemic Immunity: Acquired, Therapeutic or Both” by questioning why naturally acquired immunity was never considered in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wenstrup, a doctor of podiatric medicine, called attention to global research and data that showed those who contracted COVID-19 had antibodies that provided some level of immunity against reinfection.
He described the Biden Administration’s failure to follow the science, their creation of false narratives that misled the public, and their lack of discussion with physicians about personal, patient-driven vaccine decisions.
Wenstrup said, “In the earliest stages of the pandemic, COVID-19 was a novel virus and there simply was no data,” according to a press release.
He acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the situation, but emphasized that as more data emerged, public health leaders should have adjusted their decision-making process.
“As time passed, more and more global research emerged that infection from COVID-19 produced robust naturally acquired immunity,” the Ohio representative stated.
“Let’s be absolutely clear – natural or infection acquired immunity is real. It has been known for hundreds, if not thousands of years,” Wenstrup added, pointing to Dr. Fauci’s previous statement in 2004 about the potency of natural immunity from infections like the flu.
However, the congressman accused public health leaders of ignoring the facts and mandating vaccines for Americans without any regard for previous infection.
He argued that personal medical decisions were left to bureaucrats and politicians instead of patients and doctors, resulting in a loss of trust in public health.
Rep. Wenstrup, a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and an Iraq War veteran, said that natural immunity “could have been a force multiplier for good,” and should have been part of a conversation between patients and physicians.
He emphasized that public health needs to be educational, not an indoctrination, and asked, “Why were personal medical decisions left up to bureaucrats and the politicians not patients and doctors?”
The Select Subcommittee Chairman stated that the Biden Administration and CDC’s false narratives about the necessity and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and booster “misled the public with scare tactics and deception.”
He added, “These statements fostered a lack of public trust in our health authority during a time when the American people needed leadership and truth the most.”
The hearing aims to investigate public health failures and work to hold government officials accountable for promoting inaccurate information about COVID-19 immunity.
Wenstrup concluded by saying, “Science is clear. While for some, no amount of protection may be enough. However, natural immunity is real. It matters. It should have been studied. It should have been considered. And health decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis based on personal and scientific facts.”
