On 1 March 2022, The Epoch Times published a piece by Joseph Mercola, the biggest purveyor of anti-vaccine disinformation according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, where he claimed that COVID-19 “deaths have been vastly overcounted”. Mercola, who has made a career for himself by promoting unproven and unapproved health products, … Continued
The claim is based on the observation that the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and a genetic sequence patented by the pharmaceutical company Moderna share a 19-nucleotide long sequence. However, contrary to the beliefs of some, this sequence isn’t unique nor is it a feature specific to manmade sequences. It can be found in other living things, showing that the sequence occurs naturally. The presence of a short, identical gene sequence isn’t evidence that the virus was engineered.
In February 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its developmental milestone checklists. The new checklists aim to improve the early detection of autism and developmental delays. This strategy would allow families and physicians to better identify those children who can benefit from early intervention programs, which in many cases, can help them to catch up to their peers.
COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be very safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Although certain COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a slightly increased risk of blood clotting or heart inflammation, COVID-19 itself is associated with a higher rate of these and other conditions. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely outweigh their risks.
Both SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination lead the body to produce antibodies that provide immunity to COVID-19. Data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may last up to 20 months following infection. However, no data is available to determine what levels of antibodies are correlated with protection from reinfection. The main drawback of infection-induced immunity is that SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to severe disease and even death, whereas vaccines are safer and effective and can also enhance infection-induced immunity.Thus, they remain the strategy of choice.
The COVID-19 vaccines train your immune system to recognize and fight SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines weaken or destroy people’s immune systems, causing an AIDS-like syndrome. On the contrary, the vaccines protect people from severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. There is no connection between the COVID-19 vaccines and the HIV VB variant; this variant is estimated to have emerged in the late 1990s, decades before the COVID-19 vaccines became available.
A lockdown is a non-pharmaceutical intervention that is typically defined as a measure that requires people to stay at home and avoid activity outside the home involving public contact. A lockdown can comprise different restrictions, ranging from stay-at-home orders to business closures. The type of restrictions implemented and severity of a lockdown can differ greatly between countries. Published scientific studies found that lockdowns are effective at reducing COVID-19 spread and mortality.
A handful of countries, particularly those with high vaccination rates, announced the removal of some COVID-19 measures or are studying how and when to do so. But contrary to claims in a Facebook post, the majority of the ten countries cited in that post didn’t remove all COVID-19 measures nor have they transitioned to considering COVID-19 an endemic disease, like the flu. Moreover, most of those countries never made COVID-19 vaccination compulsory and only require proof of vaccination for certain events and spaces.
The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19. Over the course of several months, however, their effectiveness reduces. This has prompted booster dose programs in many countries to provide longer-lasting protection. The vaccines do not weaken the immune system, as evidenced by the significantly higher rates of hospitalization due to COVID-19 among unvaccinated people.
To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 5 million people worldwide and accounts for more than 866,000 deaths in the U.S. Certain pre-existing health conditions, like asthma, diabetes, and Down syndrome, increase a person’s risk of severe COVID-19 and death. As such, it isn’t surprising for the majority of COVID-19 deaths to be associated with a pre-existing health condition. However, this doesn’t mean that most COVID-19 deaths aren’t actually caused by COVID-19. People with pre-existing health conditions listed as COVID-19 deaths wouldn’t have died if they hadn’t gotten COVID-19.
