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Too early for conclusions on long-term COVID-19 immunity, but some findings suggest that immune memory against the virus lasts for up to eight months and possibly longer

Scientists still have a lot to learn about the factors contributing to COVID-19 immunity. Among some of the biggest questions is the duration of protection developed after natural infection or vaccination. This has significant implications on how well herd immunity can be maintained through vaccination and how often reinfection occurs in recovered COVID-19 patients. Some studies reported encouraging findings showing that immune memory may endure for at least several months and possibly longer. But at the moment, it is too early to make firm conclusions about how long COVID-19 immunity lasts.

Overwhelming weight of scientific evidence demonstrates that vaccines are safe and effective, contrary to claims in video by chiropractor Steve Baker

Vaccines are considered one of the greatest medical achievements. They have eradicated smallpox and reduced global child mortality and long-lasting disabilities from vaccine-preventable diseases. Besides being effective in preventing the spread of contagious diseases, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that vaccines are also safe and do not increase the risk of developmental, neurological, or autoimmune conditions. Vaccines undergo extensive testing for safety and efficacy before license and are continuously monitored even after approval to identify any safety issue. Therefore, the proven benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.

People who received the COVID-19 vaccine aren’t more likely to develop facial paralysis than people who didn’t receive the vaccine

Incidental illnesses are expected to occur at a certain rate in the general population, even among people who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 or any other disease. The incidence of Bell’s palsy, a transient form of facial paralysis, is not higher among people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Israel than in the unvaccinated general population. There is no data to support claims that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine causes Bell’s palsy.

VAERS reports of adverse events in people who received COVID-19 vaccines don’t demonstrate that these events were caused by the vaccines; evidence does not indicate COVID-19 vaccines caused Bell’s palsy and deaths

Both COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were thoroughly reviewed for safety and efficacy before approval. The U.S. Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) enables the public and healthcare providers to report adverse events that occur after vaccination. It serves as an early warning system for potential problems with vaccines. However, determining whether there is a causal link requires further investigation into these reports. VAERS data only tells us that an adverse event occurred after vaccination; on its own it cannot prove that vaccines caused the adverse event.

Lower flu activity this season likely due to COVID-19 restrictions, increased flu vaccination, and other factors, not to misdiagnosis of flu cases as COVID-19

Public health authorities are detecting lower than usual flu activity this season compared to previous seasons. Widespread adoption of public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, such as the use of face masks, physical distancing, and travel restrictions, are likely contributing to the lower flu activity. Additional factors, including increased flu vaccinations and different transmission dynamics for the flu and COVID-19, can also influence how each disease spreads. However, flu viruses are still circulating and may peak later in the season.

Strong evidence lacking to support claim that ivermectin is a cure for COVID-19; there are only limited clinical results at this stage

Proving that a given drug is an efficient and safe treatment for a disease is a lengthy process that requires well-designed clinical studies. The gold standard for clinical studies is the randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, which involves a large number of patients in multiple hospitals. While some clinical data suggests that ivermectin has an antiviral effect against the virus that causes COVID-19, clinical trials replicating this result are still lacking. Therefore, it is not possible at this time to claim that ivermectin is a cure for COVID-19.

Vaccines protect people from diseases, but don’t always prevent disease transmission; research ongoing to determine if COVID-19 vaccines stop transmission

According to the CDC and the FDA, a vaccine is a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to build defenses against a particular disease-causing microorganism, thereby preventing disease in the vaccinated individual. It is still unknown whether the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which were approved for emergency use by the FDA, can stop transmission of the virus. Research is ongoing to address this question. Since it is currently unclear whether or not vaccinated people can still transmit the virus that causes COVID-19 to others, it remains important for people to follow preventative measures, such as washing hands frequently, wearing a face mask and practicing physical distancing.

COVID-19 vaccine did not cause the death of a Portuguese woman, contrary to social media posts’ suggestions

The launch of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Europe and the U.S. has led to social media articles and posts making unsupported claims about alleged adverse reactions to the vaccine, including deaths and facial paralysis. Except for some rare cases of anaphylaxis in people with a history of severe allergic reactions, investigations showed no evidence of the COVID-19 vaccine causing severe adverse effects. Safety data from clinical trials and vaccination of thousands of people worldwide indicate that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, and serious reactions are rare.

The CDC reports more than 2.9 million deaths in the U.S. in 2020; there were at least 377,000 more deaths in 2020 compared to previous years

The COVID-19 pandemic led to more deaths in the U.S. than usual in 2020. So far, more than 2.9 million deaths in the U.S. were recorded in 2020, exceeding the total number of deaths in the U.S. in 2019, which is currently estimated at about 2.85 million. It is important to keep in mind that reports of death counts experience a time lag, hence the current death count for 2020 is incomplete and will likely grow as records are completed. The larger number of deaths than usual observed in 2020 is consistent with reports of excess deaths in 2020. Excess death is a measure of how many more deaths occurred over a period of time compared to the same time period in previous years.

German study did not find wearing face masks harms children; study wasn’t designed to accurately test these effects

Cloth face masks are safe for children over the age of two years old to wear, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. To reduce the spread of COVID-19, it is important for children to practice the same precautionary measures as adults, such as mask-wearing, frequent handwashing, and physical distancing, to limit the spread of COVID-19. While children are generally less likely to develop severe COVID-19 symptoms, some develop serious illnesses following mild cases of COVID-19, which is known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Furthermore, children can still transmit the virus to populations that are at risk for severe COVID-19, like the elderly, albeit with a lower probability than adults.