The volunteer who died in the COVID-19 vaccine trial in Brazil did not receive the vaccine. Therefore, the death is unrelated to the vaccine. An independent committee that oversees the trial’s safety concluded that there were no safety concerns regarding the trial. As a result, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency allowed the trial to continue.
COVID-19 has spread to every continent and hit many countries. Accordingly, WHO declared it a pandemic in March 2020. COVID-19 is not a type of flu, as it is caused by a coronavirus that belongs to a completely different virus family to that of the flu virus. Like many other countries, Ireland registered its first COVID-19 death in March 2020 and has recorded more than 1,800 deaths as of October 2020.
Health authorities have observed lower than usual flu activity in October 2020, which is generally the month in which flu season begins. The widespread adoption of public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing masks and physical distancing, likely contributed, in part, to the lower flu activity observed so far this year compared to previous years. However, scientists emphasize that preparing for the flu season is still important, due to the uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the flu season has only just begun at the time of this review’s publication, hence it is premature to conclude that flu cases have indeed decreased compared to last year.
The infection fatality ratio (IFR) indicates the proportion of people who die from a disease among all people infected, including both confirmed cases as well as undetected infections. The claim that COVID-19 is no more dangerous than the flu is based on a misinterpretation of the WHO’s estimate that a maximum of 10% of the global population has been infected by the virus that causes COVID-19. Calculating IFR with the upper bound of the WHO’s estimate and recent infection data underestimates the global COVID-19 IFR, which according to current estimates, is at least ten times higher than that of the flu. In addition to lethality, its global distribution, lack of vaccines or effective treatments, and potential long-term damage to survivors make COVID-19 a more significant danger compared to the flu.
One key observation in the study was that cases were more than twice as likely as controls to have been to a restaurant in the 14 days before symptoms appeared. This was in spite of the fact that most cases reported wearing a mask. COVID-19 mainly spreads by respiratory droplets that are generated through coughing, sneezing, as well as talking. Face masks help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by minimizing the generation of respiratory droplets from an infected person.
Excess mortality is a measure of how many more deaths have occurred over a period of time as compared to the same period in previous years. During the first 34 weeks of 2020, 280,000 more people died than during the first 34 weeks of any of the five previous years. From March to August 2020, the number of weekly deaths was consistently higher compared to the weekly deaths of any of the previous five years. The 280,000 excess deaths that occurred in 2020 thus far are likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The preprint that the article focuses on actually says nothing about the most egregious claim made in the article: that the virus is evolving to get around hand-washing, masks, etc. This comes from a quote from someone who’s not an author on the preprint, giving an opinion about the preprint…on a topic not covered by the preprint.”
Scientific evidence demonstrates that face masks reduce the transmission of viral respiratory infections like COVID-19 and the flu. However, they do not provide 100% protection from infection. Therefore, additional measures like physical distancing and good hand hygiene are important as additional protection. In the case of the flu, a preventative vaccine is available, making it another useful measure for enhancing protection against flu. Like face masks, the flu vaccine does not provide 100% protection. But even in cases where the vaccine does not prevent the flu, it can still help to reduce the severity of illness and in turn the likelihood of flu-related complications and death.
Several vaccines against COVID-19 are currently being developed, but they are extremely unlikely to be released within three weeks nor is it likely that they will be made compulsory for everyone. Even if a COVID-19 vaccine candidate successfully reaches Phase 3 of clinical trials, it would still have to go through a long process of approval and manufacturing.
The measure that best describes the lethality of an infectious disease is the infection fatality ratio (IFR). The IFR indicates the proportion of people who die from a disease among all the people infected, including both confirmed cases as well as undetected infections. According to their respective IFR estimates, COVID-19 is at least ten times more deadly than an average flu season, particularly for middle-aged and elderly. Furthermore, the lack of effective treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, along with potential long-term damage, make COVID-19 a serious health threat.
