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Byram Bridle’s claim that COVID-19 vaccines are toxic fails to account for key differences between the spike protein produced during infection and vaccination, misrepresents studies

The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 allows the virus to bind to and infect cells, making it an ideal target for vaccine development. Recent studies suggested that the spike protein produced during infection alone might cause cardiovascular damage in COVID-19 patients. While the three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S. induce the cells to produce the spike protein, the protein generated through vaccination behaves differently from the spike protein produced in infection. Clinical trials and ongoing vaccination campaigns, which have vaccinated more than 890 million people worldwide, demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccines are very safe and effective at preventing the disease.

Fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from wearing a mask because they are less vulnerable to infection by SARS-CoV-2 than unvaccinated people

Clinical trials and ongoing monitoring of the vaccination campaigns showed that people vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to get infected and transmit the virus than unvaccinated individuals. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted mask-wearing recommendations for vaccinated individuals, although local laws may still apply. The relaxed mask recommendations don’t apply to unvaccinated people, since they are much more likely to get infected and spread the disease, particularly to other unvaccinated people.

Vaccines are a safer alternative for acquiring immunity compared to natural infection and COVID-19 survivors benefit from getting vaccinated, contrary to claims by Peter McCullough

Clinical trials showed that COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the disease and have an excellent safety profile. While infection can also confer protective immunity, this also comes with the risks associated with disease, such as death and health complications. Vaccination develops immunity without running these risks, making vaccines the safer choice. COVID-19 survivors also benefit from vaccination. For example, vaccination may help prevent reinfection in survivors who don’t develop protective immunity from infection alone, while vaccine boosters can help build immunity to virus variants.

How were mRNA vaccines developed for COVID-19?

The vaccines for COVID-19 produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were the first mRNA vaccines authorized for use in the general public. mRNA vaccines were a long-standing ambition for scientists, as it was hoped that they would offer many advantages over traditional vaccines[1]. However, there were significant technical challenges that took decades to overcome. How do … Continued

COVID-19 PCR tests are highly sensitive and specific for the virus SARS-CoV-2; the majority of positive results are true positives; there is no evidence that budesonide or HCQ are useful as COVID-19 treatments

Models that predicted COVID-19 would cause 2.2 million deaths in the U.S. were based on the assumption that no measures were taken to prevent the spread of the disease. The reason why the projected figure differed significantly from real-world outcomes is because the assumption in the model didn’t hold true in real life, as measures were taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 PCR tests are highly specific and sensitive for the virus’ genetic material, and evidence indicates that, by and large, most positive results are true positives. Neither budesonide nor hydroxychloroquine have been approved for treating the disease, as their usefulness has not been proven.

COVID-19 vaccines are safer than the risk of COVID-19 infection for people of all ages

COVID-19 caused millions of infections and over 3.5 million deaths worldwide. Most children and young adults who get infected only experience mild symptoms of the disease. However, a small proportion of people younger than 24 can still develop severe COVID-19 and die. Even those that survive the disease can suffer from persistent health problems after recovery. Despite the high survival rate among young people, COVID-19 vaccines can help protect them from risks associated with the disease. In parallel, COVID-19 vaccination can help reduce the spread of the virus, especially among vulnerable people who aren’t able to take the vaccine for medical reasons.

CDC mask recommendations changed as more people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated; masks are effective at reducing virus transmission and are especially important when the majority of the population is unvaccinated

The CDC’s mask guidelines changed throughout the pandemic as researchers collected more information about both the virus SARS-CoV-2 and the effectiveness of vaccines. The CDC’s recent guidelines, which stated that vaccinated individuals can forgo masks in any setting, were informed by newly discovered scientific evidence related to vaccine effectiveness and as the number of fully vaccinated individuals in the U.S. increased.

PCR tests on vaccinated and unvaccinated people are evaluated using the same criteria; the CDC didn’t change criteria for detecting infection in vaccinated people, as alleged in OffGuardian article

Clinical trials in tens of thousands of people, as well as data from ongoing vaccination campaigns, demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe disease and death. COVID-19 is a reportable condition, meaning that by law, every positive test must be reported, regardless of a person’s vaccination status. COVID-19 PCR tests are also performed using the same criteria and methodology regardless of a person’s vaccination status. However, only samples with sufficient genetic material, which can be identified at lower Ct values, are sent on for further testing by genomic sequencing. Genomic sequencing is used to determine the virus’ lineage and identify variants.

No data available to suggest a link between India’s reduction of COVID-19 cases and the use of ivermectin

India experienced a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in May 2021. However, no data is available to support the claim that this is causally associated with the recommendation to use ivermectin. The slow down of the disease spreading began before India released official recommendations to use that drug. In spite of several clinical studies, no reliable evidence is available to suggest that hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin are effective against COVID-19. At the moment, international health agencies and scientific societies discourage using these drugs to treat COVID-19, except in clinical trials designed to assess their efficacy.

U.S. CDC director didn’t state that COVID-19 deaths were over-counted; her statements about deaths among vaccine breakthrough cases were misinterpreted

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky declared in May 2021 that hospitals are reporting cases of COVID-19 infections in people who have been fully vaccinated, which are known as breakthrough cases. Some of these cases resulted in deaths, which may have been due to COVID-19 or other causes, like heart attack. Only cases in which COVID-19 was the immediate cause of death or did initiate the chain of events leading to the death are counted as deaths by COVID-19, according to CDC guidelines.