Excess mortality is a useful way to measure the overall impact of emerging threats—like war and disease—on a population’s health. Claims that the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax or was simply never that bad belie the fact that it caused an estimated 14 million excess deaths from 2020 to 2021 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Immunity from either COVID-19 vaccination or from infection, exerts selective pressure on a virus and can drive viral evolution, potentially leading to new variants. However, not vaccinating and allowing the virus to spread freely carries the risk of severe disease and death and would also increase the virus’ opportunities to mutate. COVID-19 vaccines, while imperfect, help reduce the spread of the virus and the risk of severe illness and death.
When comparing country-level COVID-19 data, care must be taken when drawing conclusions because such analyses come with a high risk of bias. It is important to account for many factors, such as COVID-19 testing policy, each country’s age distribution, and compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures, because these are all factors that affect COVID-19 outcomes reported in each country.
Febrile seizures are convulsions that occur in children triggered by a fever. Therefore, their root cause can be traced to anything that causes a fever, including infection and vaccines. Although febrile seizures can be alarming to witness, they normally don’t result in harm and aren’t associated with long-term repercussions.
Claims questioning COVID-19 vaccine safety have circulated continuously since COVID-19 vaccination campaigns began at the end of 2020. One such claim suggests that there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of cancer cases after the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, implying that the vaccines are responsible for this phenomenon. Science Feedback previously explained why this … Continued
Ivermectin is approved for treating parasitic infections in people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some promoted ivermectin as an effective drug to treat COVID-19. Some physicians also prescribed the drug “off-label” for COVID-19. However, there is a lack of reliable scientific evidence to support using ivermectin to treat COVID-19. Ivermectin isn’t approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating COVID-19.
People with cancer are at a greater risk of developing severe COVID-19. This group is recommended to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease. Clinical trials and post-marketing monitoring have shown that the vaccines are safe, with their benefits outweighing their risks. To date, there’s no data suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a greater risk of cancer or an acceleration in cancer progression.
Some people have reported symptoms resembling long COVID after COVID-19 vaccination. Research on these symptoms is still limited, and their potential link with COVID-19 vaccines remains undetermined. However, these cases are rare, and the risk associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection far outweighs the risk of developing long-term complications after COVID-19 vaccination. Studies are ongoing to better understand the cause of post-vaccination symptoms and their possible relationship with COVID-19 vaccines.
Over time, COVID-19 has become a smaller threat to public health than it was in 2020 and 2021. The combination of vaccination, better treatments, widespread immunity among the population, and the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants mean that COVID-19 patients now experience milder disease and are less likely to die. These improvements have reduced the overall risk posed by COVID-19, justifying a change in guidelines.
SUMMARY Three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have acquired ample evidence showing that COVID-19 vaccines are safe. While COVID-19 vaccines are associated with some serious effects like myocarditis, such cases are rare and much less likely to occur after vaccination than after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nevertheless, anecdotes and stories of ill health … Continued
