Michigan Hospital System Says Workers With COVID-19 Natural Immunity Don’t Need Vaccine

A person gets a COVID-19 test at Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak Campus in Royal Oak, Mich., on April 7, 2020. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Workers at Michigan-based Spectrum Health can avoid the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate if they can prove they have natural immunity to the virus.

“While we still recommend vaccination for people with prior COVID-19 infection, according to this new research, there is increasing evidence that natural infection affords protection from COVID-19 reinfection and severe symptoms for a period of time,” Spectrum said in a statement, according to local media. “Current studies are not clear on how long natural immunity protects from reinfection.”