Sen. Marshall, Doctors Caucus send letter to CDC urging recognition of COVID-19 natural immunity

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., sent a letter to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky calling on the CDC to "recognize natural immunity" against COVID-19.

Marshall, a medical doctor, led a group of his fellow Doctors Caucus members in a letter to Walensky on Tuesday, warning that not recognizing natural immunity to COVID-19 could have wide-ranging implications from the military to health care and the economy.

"The U.S. Department of Defense vaccine mandate has the potential to lead to a national security crisis by separating up to 20% of our military personnel, many of whom likely have natural immunity," the letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News, reads.

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"Additionally, as the vaccine mandate plays out, it will only further exacerbate the health care crisis shortage of nurses, nurse aides and other providers in certified Medicare and Medicaid facilities," the lawmakers continued, adding that businesses across the country "will be impacted."

The assembled Doctors Caucus members expressed their appreciation for the vaccine recommendations by the CDC as the nation fights the novel coronavirus pandemic before pointing to research data showing robust immune responses in patients previously infected by COVID-19.

"Published and submitted journal articles verify immunity from natural infection and innate immunity in measuring an individual’s level of protection to COVID-19," they wrote. "One study examining this found that patients who recovered from COVID-19 could produce long-term immune response."

The physicians called on the CDC "to harness available data and technology to establish better patient-centered solutions" to "truly determine" a person’s immunity to the novel coronavirus, pointing out that it "may be the case" that someone might not need the jab or that a single vaccine dose could produce "a sufficient level of protection."

"We urge the CDC to acknowledge natural immunity and work with other federal agencies to ensure all future guidance, policies and federally-funded research take this evidence into account and build off it," the lawmakers wrote, requesting a response to their "urgent request" by mid-October.

Joining Marshall on the letter are 14 of his fellow Republican congressional physicians from both legislative chambers, including Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky, as well as Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Gregory Murphy of North Carolina, and Ronny Jackson of Texas.

The CDC did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the letter.

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Walensky came under scrutiny after she bucked the agency’s vaccine advisory panel’s recommendation on COVID-19 booster shots, raising questions on whether the Biden administration is following the science as they pledged on the campaign trail.

The CDC director maintained that the agency is "following the science" in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier last week.

"We are absolutely following the science... I think what you're starting to see is the science is emerging. We are in a pandemic here," she said. "We are actively getting new information every day about the effectiveness of these vaccines, the effectiveness of boosters, the safety of these vaccines. And we are updating our guidance every single day and following the science."

Houston Keene is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find him on Twitter at @HoustonKeene.