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Flawed speculative study incorrectly claims that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause neurodegenerative diseases

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S. demonstrated safety and efficacy in thousands of people during clinical trials. Ongoing safety monitoring in millions of vaccinated people further shows that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe and don’t alter human DNA. They are also not associated with neurodegenerative diseases or serious adverse effects other than rare cases of allergic reactions in people with a previous history of allergies.

COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause herpes infections; a possible association with the reactivation of herpes zoster in patients with rheumatic diseases remains unconfirmed

Herpes zoster (shingles) is a viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus that also causes chickenpox. This virus doesn’t cause other types of herpes, such as genital herpes. Only people who had chickenpox in the past can develop shingles, which result from a reactivation of pre-existing virus in the body. One study reported six cases of shingles in patients with rheumatic diseases after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, suggesting that the vaccine might trigger viral reactivation in these patients. However, the study wasn’t designed to establish a causal association between shingles and the vaccine because it didn’t include a group of unvaccinated rheumatic patients.

Using face masks reduces the transmission of COVID-19 and doesn’t lead to oxygen deficiency or carbon dioxide buildup in the blood

Although viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are much smaller in size than the pores in a face mask, these viruses are carried by droplets or aerosols that can be effectively trapped by face masks, reducing aerosol emission. Face masks can’t prevent the passage of gases, so they cannot significantly reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood, nor increase the amount of carbon dioxide.

The World Health Organization doesn’t recommend ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment; the drug’s safety and effectiveness remains uncertain in COVID-19 patients

Repurposing existing drugs is a helpful strategy that can accelerate the approval of new treatments against a disease. However, simply because a drug works against one disease isn’t evidence that it will work for another. Therefore, even existing drugs used for one disease still need to demonstrate that they are safe and effective in the context of another disease. While some studies suggest that ivermectin might have a beneficial effect in COVID-19 patients, they don’t provide sufficient evidence to recommend ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment due to potential biases and small sample sizes.

Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms; other factors may determine an individual’s susceptibility to infection, but the microorganism is still the cause

Factors like nutrition, genetics and age can influence an individual’s susceptibility to a microorganism, such as a virus or a bacteria. These factors make individuals more or less likely to develop infections after they were exposed to a microorganism. That being said, even individuals who are young and healthy can develop infectious diseases because the cause of infectious diseases is still the microorganism.

Scientific evidence supports the use of face masks to reduce COVID-19 spread, mainly by preventing infectious liquid particles from reaching uninfected people

Evidence indicates that contact with infectious liquid particles is the main mode of COVID-19 transmission. Masks act as a simple physical barrier to reduce the dissemination of these liquid particles generated by people when they cough, sneeze, or speak. Several published studies showed that face masks reduce the spread of viral infectious diseases like COVID-19. Wearing masks outdoors is also important if spending prolonged periods of time in close contact with other people.

Clinical trials and post-trial monitoring show that COVID-19 vaccines reduce the spread and occurrence of the disease

The COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have demonstrated their safety and effectiveness at preventing the disease. Estimations for the lethality of a disease cannot be extrapolated to individuals, since the probability of an individual dying from a disease depends on their own characteristics, such as age and preexisting conditions.

COVID-19 related deaths are indeed caused by COVID-19 and not by contributing health conditions

Underlying cause of death is defined as a medical condition that triggers a chain of clinical events that leads to the death of a patient. Contributing medical conditions can either be a consequence of that underlying cause of death or a pre-existing condition that weakens a patient’s resistance to injuries or diseases and indirectly contributes to their death. COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death in the large majority of recorded COVID-19 related deaths.

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines aren’t operating systems, and won’t transform the human body into a virus-making factory

The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are substances that stimulate the immune systems of vaccinated individuals to recognize and respond to infections with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines aren’t computer operating systems. mRNA vaccines are unable to stimulate the production of the virus that causes COVID-19, since they only carry information to produce the spike protein, which is present on the surface of SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 vaccines don’t hamper the function of the immune system and are likely to limit the generation of variants; no evidence that they produce more lethal variants

Data from clinical trials showed that COVID-19 vaccines are effective and safe. The available evidence indicates that people vaccinated against COVID-19 are protected from the disease and maintain functional immune systems. Virus variants emerge as the virus infects more people and acquires new mutations during the process of making more copies of itself. Because COVID-19 vaccines can prevent individuals from viral infections, they prevent the virus from spreading and limit the opportunity for new variants to emerge.