Multiple peer-reviewed published studies have shown that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh its risks. While some COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a risk of heart inflammation while others are associated with a risk of blood clots, the same risks are much higher following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a rare neurological condition caused by the varicella-zoster virus in people who had chickenpox. Once the person recovers from chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in nerve tissue, but can reactivate depending on the circumstances in the form of shingles. Ramsay Hunt syndrome occurs when shingles affects the facial nerve, causing facial paralysis and hearing loss. Current evidence doesn’t indicate that COVID-19 vaccination increases the risk of reactivation of the virus, but COVID-19 itself might.
Reports of sudden arrhythmia death syndrome (SADS) date back to the early 1990s. SADS is the result of genetic mutations that disrupt the electrical system that regulates the pumping action of the heart. This can lead to abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) and sudden cardiac arrest. Some people who have these conditions may not exhibit any symptom at all; others may be prone to seizures as well as fainting under physical or emotional stress. The SADS Foundation recommends that people with SADS conditions get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Well-designed studies that account for confounding have reported that widespread mask-wearing reduces the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
Pregnant women are among those at a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, which also increases the risk of pregnancy complications like early birth. Such complications could also have cascading negative effects on their babies. COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of severe COVID-19 in pregnant women, and therefore can reduce the risk of complications and negative outcomes in both the mother and baby.
Researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology synthesized a genetic sequence representing less than a third of the whole monkeypox genome. Their work did not recreate an entire virus. The genome sequence they used is from a virus belonging to the Congo Basin monkeypox clade, whereas the 2022 monkeypox outbreak involves a monkeypox virus from the West Africa clade. The published research is thus unrelated to the outbreak.
Several countries in Europe, America, and Asia are notifying cases of monkeypox cases in people with no recent travel history to regions where the disease is endemic, that is, limited regions in Central and West Africa where the virus circulates. While the spread of the monkeypox virus in non-endemic countries is unusual and concerning, the cases detected so far are unlikely to cause a pandemic like SARS-CoV-2 did. The main reasons are that the number of cases is low, the virus doesn’t spread very easily, and smallpox vaccines also protect against monkeypox infection.
The spike protein is a vital component for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to infect cells. As it is situated on the virus’s surface, it is an easy target for the immune system to recognize. The COVID-19 vaccines cause the body to produce a small amount of spike protein, which is cleared within days, to prompt an immune response. There is no evidence that the spike protein causes damage to cells at these levels, and there is no evidence that “detox” diets will alter this process. The risks of developing serious complications like blood clots or lung damage are far higher after severe COVID-19 than after a vaccine; in fact, vaccination helps to reduce this risk instead.
Awareness of the risks of a pandemic existed before the emergence of COVID-19. The pandemic potential of coronaviruses has been known since at least the SARS outbreak of 2003. This group of viruses is therefore a logical choice for pandemic preparedness events such as Event 201. Thus, the fact that Event 201 occurred months before the COVID-19 is not evidence that the COVID-19 was already known or planned.
mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are associated with rare cases of typically mild inflammation of the heart muscle. However, this risk is low compared to the risk of cardiac complications that COVID-19 itself carries. By reducing the likelihood of infection and preventing severe COVID-19, vaccination protects against the many problems associated with the disease, including myocarditis.
