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The COVID-19 vaccines don’t weaken the immune system and are unrelated to the HIV VB variant

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.

Claims that a “Johns Hopkins study” showed lockdowns are ineffective at reducing COVID-19 mortality are based on a working paper with questionable methods

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.

Majority of ten countries listed in viral chain message haven’t dropped all COVID-19 restriction measures and aren’t considering COVID-19 as a seasonal flu, despite claims

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 protect people from severe COVID-19 and don’t weaken the immune system

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.

COVID-19 deaths in people with pre-existing health conditions are still caused by COVID-19, contrary to claim by Jimmy Dore

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.

Robert Malone made multiple misleading or unsubstantiated claims about COVID-19 and vaccines on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast

The highly contagious Omicron variant has led to record numbers of COVID-19 cases worldwide. Although COVID-19 vaccines are much less effective at preventing infection by this variant compared to previous ones, they remain effective against severe illness and death. Current data indicates that a booster dose enhances this protection. Safety data shows that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines far outweigh their known and potential risks.

There is no evidence that dietary supplements containing zinc and a zinc ionophore, such as the one promoted by Vladimir Zelenko, are effective against COVID-19

The combination of zinc and a zinc ionophore has been promoted as a way to treat COVID-19, including by family physician Vladimir Zelenko who is selling a dietary supplement called Z-Stack. However, while a 2010 paper found that the combination of zinc and a zinc ionophore can limit coronavirus replication in cells in a lab, there is no evidence that this combination works in humans. Zelenko also claims that vitamin D3 can boost immunity. But while some studies have detected an association between low levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of catching COVID-19 and/or worse COVID-19 outcomes, there is no evidence that taking vitamin D supplements boosts immunity.

COVID-19 vaccines aren’t associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complication, contrary to claim by Daniel Horowitz

While pregnant women were first excluded from clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines, observational data from many countries now show that COVID-19 vaccines don’t affect pregnancy outcomes. Pregnancy places someone at a higher risk of getting severe COVID-19, and the infection increases the risk of pregnancy complications, including perinatal death. Therefore, COVID-19 vaccination offers benefits to pregnant women.

CDC director’s comments that 75% of COVID-19 deaths are among people with four comorbidities applies only to vaccinated people

COVID-19 vaccines provide a high level of protection against severe disease. The small number of severe cases and deaths among vaccinated adults is dominated by those who have multiple risk factors. These people were at very high risk of severe COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic, and while the vaccines have brought down their risk considerably, they still remain at higher risk than other vaccinated people who don’t have the same risk factors. Unvaccinated people have approximately ten times the risk of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.

The scientific evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of infection and mortality; analysis of cases and deaths from 145 countries is methodologically flawed

Ecological studies compare aggregate data from whole groups or populations and seek correlations between exposure to a potential risk factor and the frequency of disease. They are relatively quick and inexpensive to do compared to studies such as randomized controlled trials. However, there are also important pitfalls to ecological studies. For example, it’s difficult to account for confounding factors in the study, which are variables that affect the outcome of an experiment, but aren’t the variables being studied in the experiment. As such, it is challenging to draw causal inferences solely from an ecological study.