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COVID-19 vaccines are a much safer way of acquiring immunity than infection, which requires exposing the person to risks from the disease

The spread of the Delta variant has caused new COVID-19 surges in many countries, including Israel. Data from Israel indicates that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has a lower effectiveness (64%) against infection and symptomatic illness with this variant, but the vaccine remains highly effective at preventing 93% of serious illnesses. Hence, Israel is now seeing fewer COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths compared to previous waves. This shows that COVID-19 vaccines are a safer way of acquiring immunity than infection and effectively protect people from illness and death.

New York Magazine article on children’s risks from COVID-19 is accurate, but more context regarding difference in risk between young and older children would be helpful

As a whole, children are at a lower risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 compared to adults. However, very young children face a different level of risk compared to older children like teenagers. Long COVID, a condition in which people who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 continue to show signs of illness even weeks and months later, has been documented in children. Definitive information regarding the prevalence of long COVID in children is lacking, but research is currently underway to address this research question.

Vaccinated people are much more protected from COVID-19 than unvaccinated individuals; the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh their risks

Epidemiological studies show that there are much fewer COVID-19 cases or deaths among vaccinated people compared to unvaccinated individuals. Published data show that vaccinated people infected by SARS-CoV-2 usually present a lower viral load, preventing severe forms of the disease, and reducing the likelihood of transmission. Vaccination isn’t associated with an increased likelihood of dying and efficiently protects from COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent severe disease; haven’t shown signs of antibody-dependent enhancement as claimed by Robert Malone

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a mechanism that occurs when antibodies can’t neutralize a virus but instead increase its ability to infect cells, making the disease worse. While ADE was a concern during COVID-19 vaccine development, previous knowledge allowed researchers to minimize this risk from early stages. COVID-19 vaccines haven’t shown signs of causing more severe disease in animal studies, clinical trials, nor vaccination roll-out. On the contrary, all FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe disease.

EUA withdrawal for CDC COVID-19 PCR test is due to the development of newer tests that help save time and resources, not because the test is faulty

COVID-19 PCR tests are highly sensitive and specific for the virus SARS-CoV-2. These tests don’t detect the flu virus, which belongs to a completely different family of viruses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has decided to discontinue support for its COVID-19 PCR tests due to the development of new diagnostic tests capable of processing more samples at a given time and detecting multiple pathogens including SARS-CoV-2. These new tests will help save time and resources.

In the U.S. new COVID-19 cases are concentrated in areas with low vaccination rates

In July 2021, the U.S. saw increases in COVID-19 cases concentrated in communities with low vaccination rates. Nearly 40% of new COVID-19 cases occurred in Florida, Missouri and Texas, three states with low vaccination rates. Furthermore, the majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are occurring in unvaccinated individuals.

Unsupported claim that COVID-19 vaccines caused hundreds of serious reactions among military veterans misuses VAERS reports

The U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) collects reports from adverse events that occur after vaccination. While VAERS is a useful early warning system that helps identify rare potential effects of vaccines, the reports alone cannot establish a causal link between both. Public health authorities use this information to identify events that might require further investigation

VAERS reports may initiate investigations into potential associations between a vaccine and adverse events, but on their own cannot prove causality

Reports in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System aren’t in themselves evidence that the vaccine was the cause of the adverse event. To date, more than 187 million people in the U.S. received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 162 million are fully vaccinated. Comparing the number of deaths among vaccinated people to that of the background rate of death shows that vaccinated people aren’t more likely to die compared to unvaccinated people. The benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use outweigh their risks.