Introduction Whether you’re watching the news or scrolling through your social media feeds, you’re certain to come across content about COVID-19 vaccines. This is unsurprising—vaccine safety, and in particular adverse events occurring after COVID-19 vaccination, have been the subject of scrutiny from regulatory agencies, scientists, and the public. While it’s critical to be vigilant and … Continued
The three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration prevent COVID-19 hospitalization by at least 89% and are an effective way to protect oneself and others against the disease. However, they don’t completely prevent it. Unvaccinated people facilitate the spread of the virus, increasing the risk of exposure, infection, and severe illness among all the community members, including those who are fully vaccinated.
While initial clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines didn’t include pregnant women, subsequent trials and ongoing monitoring of real-world vaccinations suggest that pregnant women who are vaccinated don’t have poorer pregnancy outcomes than unvaccinated women. More data is needed to draw a more definitive conclusion.
The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has become prevalent in the U.K. since May 2021. At the same time, most of the people who are vaccinated in the U.K. are the elderly, who were among the priority groups in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, as they are at a higher risk of severe illness. So far, the data shows that most COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant in the U.K. occur in people under 50 years old, an age group that is less likely to die from COVID-19 compared to those older than 50. As most of the risk groups in the U.K. are now protected by vaccination, fewer people are expected to die from a Delta variant infection. Therefore, while the fatality rate of the Delta variant appears lower, this is a result of vaccination and the characteristics of the unvaccinated population, and not necessarily because the Delta variant is less lethal than the wild-type virus.
Claims that a study from the University of Almería, Spain, found graphene oxide in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, contain numerous inaccuracies. Firstly, the alleged vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine analyzed is of unknown origin and traceability. Secondly, the methodology used for the analysis, electron microscopy, is inconclusive. Thirdly, the list of ingredients in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which can be found in the vaccine’s package insert, don’t include graphene; these package inserts are rigorously reviewed by health authorities. Lastly, the analysis isn’t an official study from the University of Almería, which distanced itself from the analysis and its conclusions.
COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the U.S Food and Drug administration have proved highly effective at preventing severe disease and death in vaccinated individuals. Over 95% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths from the past few months occurred among unvaccinated people and could be avoidable by immunization.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccinating young children against COVID-19 is of less urgency compared to vaccinating adults. The WHO explains that this is because young children’s risk of developing a symptomatic or severe form of the disease is smaller. However, the WHO also made it clear that children who have conditions that place them at higher risk of severe illness would be considered as priority groups for vaccination. Additional clinical trials are being conducted to provide more data on the matter.
Real-world evidence shows that the COVID-19 RNA vaccines are highly effective at preventing illness and death. There is evidence indicating that spike protein during infection can lead to damage, but this isn’t representative of the situation in vaccination. The level of spike protein generated through COVID-19 vaccination is much lower than the levels associated with damage during infection. The evidence so far doesn’t show that COVID-19 vaccination leads to a higher risk of adverse events during pregnancy or affects fertility.
Most people who had COVID-19 develop some level of protective immunity. However, the immune response can vary a lot between individuals, and not all COVID-19 survivors develop sufficiently protective immunity, since reinfection can occur. COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated a more robust and reliable immune response than natural infection. They can also provide additional benefits, such as boosting immunity in people who had a low immune response after natural infection or enhancing protection against variants of the virus.
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic prompted countries everywhere to take measures to reduce the spread of the disease. One of these measures, which has proven to be effective (as covered in several Health Feedback claim reviews here, here, and here) but hasn’t been without controversy, is lockdown. Lockdowns consist of limiting certain activities by the general … Continued
