Sen. Rand Paul (R. Ky) said on Sunday he’s making a personal decision to not get vaccinated against the coronavirus since he was already infected.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that individuals who recovered from a COVID infection still get vaccinated since they are not sure how long natural immunity last.
However, Paul is not ready to get onboard yet until he sees evidence to show that vaccine immunity is better than natural immunity.
“Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that I’m not getting vaccinated because I’ve already had the disease and I have natural immunity,” Paul said, according to the Hill.
Paul also said the decision on whether or not to take the vaccine is a personal one and no one should be forced to get vaccinated.
“In a free country, you would think people would honor the idea that each individual would get to make the medical decision, that it wouldn’t be a big brother coming to tell me what I have to do,” Paul said. “Are they also going to tell me I can’t have a cheeseburger for lunch? Are they going to tell me that I have to eat carrots only and cut my calories? All that would probably be good for me, but I don’t think big brother ought to tell me to do it.”
Paul tested positive for COVID-19 in March last year.
