On 17 January 2024, public health experts including Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), held a roundtable titled “Preparing for Disease X” at the World Economic Forum of Davos (WEF). In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the panel discussed what had failed in the global response to the pandemic … Continued
Studies have shown that people vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to develop severe disease, require hospitalization, and die from COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated people. While COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a slightly elevated risk of myocarditis and a particular blood clotting disorder, it is COVID-19 that is associated with a greater risk of these illnesses and other complications. On balance, the evidence gathered so far by studies shows that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks, not the other way around.
Safety data and multiple studies show that COVID-19 vaccines effectively reduce the risk of severe or fatal COVID-19 cases, while the risk of serious side effects from vaccination is very small. But COVID-19 vaccines come with tighter reporting requirements than earlier vaccines, which results in more adverse event reports to vaccine safety databases compared to other vaccines. This doesn’t indicate any safety issues but instead reflects an increased reporting rate.
Immunodeficiency is broadly defined as a state in which a person’s immune system is unable to fight off infections and cancer. It can arise as a result of genetic conditions, infection, or other environmental factors. One form of immunodeficiency, called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is caused by untreated HIV infection. HIV detection tests are highly specific, meaning most positive test results are truly positive. Rarely, infections by other pathogens and underlying health conditions can cause false-positive results in HIV tests, but this doesn’t indicate immunodeficiency. COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause false-positive HIV tests nor do they cause immunodeficiency.
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 and death. Thus, they help minimize the risk of developing complications from the disease, including cardiovascular problems, organ failure, and long COVID. Although certain COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a slightly increased risk of heart inflammation in young males, this risk is much smaller than the risks posed by COVID-19 itself.
Writing reports or organizing simulation exercises using fictitious yet plausible pandemic scenarios is a normal part of emergency preparedness training. Similar to fire drills, they are useful for identifying and anticipating possible challenges that would come up during a real public health crisis.
Leprosy is a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Most of the population is already immune to this infection due to natural immunity. It is a slowly progressing disease, with a low risk of transmission, that is curable with a six to twelve months multidrug therapies.
The main benefit of COVID-19 vaccines is in reducing the risk of severe disease. They are also safe and the evidence indicates that they aren’t associated with increased all-cause mortality. Furthermore, they limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission, although their effectiveness in this regard varies depending on the SARS-CoV-2 variant and the amount of time elapsed since vaccination.
The main benefit of COVID-19 vaccines is in reducing the risk of severe disease. They are also safe and the evidence indicates that they aren’t associated with increased all-cause mortality. Furthermore, they limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission, although their effectiveness in this regard varies depending on the SARS-CoV-2 variant and the amount of time elapsed since vaccination.
COVID-19 cases have shown a tendency to peak during the winter. COVID-19 vaccines were initially highly effective against both infection and severe disease. The emergence of more infectious viral variants greatly diminished the vaccines’ effectiveness against infection, but the vaccines remain highly effective at protecting people from developing severe disease and death, which is their main purpose.
