The US Open tennis tournament has commenced in Queens, presenting the opportunity for one of the world’s most outstanding players to make his long-awaited competitive return. Novak Djokovic, who opted against receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, was prohibited from entering the United States for nearly two years, resulting in his absence from multiple significant tournaments, including the 2022 US Open. Djokovic, like many others, became a victim of flawed public-health decision-making that deviated from scientific evidence. President Joe Biden, through a presidential proclamation, prohibited unvaccinated noncitizen air travelers from entering the country starting November 8, 2021. Curiously, the ban did not apply to unvaccinated citizens and land travelers. It was not until May 12, 2023, that the restriction was eventually lifted. However, the ban’s logic was questionable, especially for individuals like Djokovic who could demonstrate their recovery from COVID-19 infection. Djokovic, who had tested positive for COVID twice, once in June 2020 and then again in December 2021, found himself in a predicament due to his unvaccinated status. Prior to the pandemic, experts in infectious diseases commonly stated that natural immunity generally provides stronger protection than vaccines. Getty Images Recent studies conducted in 2021, both locally and internationally, have confirmed the validity of this claim for COVID-19 as well. A comprehensive study by the Cleveland Clinic concluded that individuals with prior COVID infections are unlikely to benefit from vaccination. Additionally, a systematic review and meta-analysis published in early 2023 in The Lancet, a prestigious British journal, reaffirmed the long-held belief that natural immunity acquired after a COVID infection is real and offers a level of protection that is at least as high, if not higher, than that provided by two doses of high-quality mRNA vaccines. Other places, such as the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Israel, have implemented certificates to document vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 infection, which facilitate travel and entry into public spaces. Remarkably, the experts in the Biden administration were so fixated on promoting vaccination that they refused to acknowledge the existence of natural immunity following infection. On November 8, 2021, President Biden issued the ban on unvaccinated noncitizen air travelers entering the United States, and it was not until almost two years later, on May 12, 2023, that the restriction was finally lifted. Shutterstock They insisted that everyone, regardless of prior infection, must be fully vaccinated and penalized those who disagreed. One unfortunate consequence of this singular focus on vaccines was that in the early months of 2021, when vaccine supplies were severely limited, shots were administered to individuals who already possessed immunity instead of prioritizing those without any form of protection. Consequently, some of the latter group were unable to access a vaccine and subsequently fell ill, potentially suffering from severe complications or even death. Furthermore, misguided policies led to unnecessary travel restrictions, loss of employment and education, and Djokovic losing his right to play tennis, albeit an injustice that pales in comparison to the broader scheme of things. Many essential workers such as firefighters, police officers, and medical personnel, who could provide evidence of previous infections but chose not to get vaccinated, also lost their jobs, resulting in an adverse impact on society as a whole. Moreover, educational institutions that mandated vaccination, irrespective of prior infection, caused certain students, who were not at high risk from COVID, to unnecessarily miss out on valuable education. These decisions were made despite Anthony Fauci himself acknowledging in a journal article that vaccines for respiratory viruses, such as the one that causes COVID-19, typically offer suboptimal protection against infection and rarely produce long-lasting immune responses. In essence, there was always scientific rationale to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines would provide minimal to no additional protection for individuals like Novak Djokovic and the fans who came to watch him compete. A year ago, blood-bank data indicated that nearly everyone had some form of immunity resulting from vaccination (26%), previous infections (23%), or a combination of both (48%). Therefore, there was no valid reason to prolong the misguided travel restrictions for an additional nine months. As a tennis enthusiast, along with countless others, I am grateful to witness Djokovic, one of the all-time greats, back on the court. It is also encouraging to see the Biden administration and public-health experts finally aligning their approach with scientific evidence. Dr. Joel Zinberg, a distinguished fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the director of the Paragon Health Institute’s Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative, contributed this article.
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