In April 2024, a copy of a New Jersey doctor’s office policy regarding sports physicals for student athletes circulated on social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. The policy stated that “Covid vaccinations affect your risk” of “sudden cardiac death on the playing field”. At the time of writing, one Instagram post sharing the policy … Continued
Immunity from either COVID-19 vaccination or from infection, exerts selective pressure on a virus and can drive viral evolution, potentially leading to new variants. However, not vaccinating and allowing the virus to spread freely carries the risk of severe disease and death and would also increase the virus’ opportunities to mutate. COVID-19 vaccines, while imperfect, help reduce the spread of the virus and the risk of severe illness and death.
When comparing country-level COVID-19 data, care must be taken when drawing conclusions because such analyses come with a high risk of bias. It is important to account for many factors, such as COVID-19 testing policy, each country’s age distribution, and compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures, because these are all factors that affect COVID-19 outcomes reported in each country.
Claims questioning COVID-19 vaccine safety have circulated continuously since COVID-19 vaccination campaigns began at the end of 2020. One such claim suggests that there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of cancer cases after the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, implying that the vaccines are responsible for this phenomenon. Science Feedback previously explained why this … Continued
Ivermectin is approved for treating parasitic infections in people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some promoted ivermectin as an effective drug to treat COVID-19. Some physicians also prescribed the drug “off-label” for COVID-19. However, there is a lack of reliable scientific evidence to support using ivermectin to treat COVID-19. Ivermectin isn’t approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating COVID-19.
People with cancer are at a greater risk of developing severe COVID-19. This group is recommended to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease. Clinical trials and post-marketing monitoring have shown that the vaccines are safe, with their benefits outweighing their risks. To date, there’s no data suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a greater risk of cancer or an acceleration in cancer progression.
Some people have reported symptoms resembling long COVID after COVID-19 vaccination. Research on these symptoms is still limited, and their potential link with COVID-19 vaccines remains undetermined. However, these cases are rare, and the risk associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection far outweighs the risk of developing long-term complications after COVID-19 vaccination. Studies are ongoing to better understand the cause of post-vaccination symptoms and their possible relationship with COVID-19 vaccines.
Over time, COVID-19 has become a smaller threat to public health than it was in 2020 and 2021. The combination of vaccination, better treatments, widespread immunity among the population, and the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants mean that COVID-19 patients now experience milder disease and are less likely to die. These improvements have reduced the overall risk posed by COVID-19, justifying a change in guidelines.
Growing vaccines in edible plants is emerging as a promising alternative to traditional vaccines, particularly in developing countries where challenges in vaccine storage and distribution greatly limit people’s access to vaccination. Studies so far provide proof-of-principle that this approach is feasible. However, the technology still needs to overcome several technical hurdles before it can enter the market. Among them are the low levels of vaccine production per plant and difficulty in standardizing dosage.
Randomized controlled trials are commonly held up as the gold standard for determining the safety and efficacy of a medical intervention, like a vaccine or a drug. Saline placebo-controlled trials are sometimes used to test a new vaccine, but such trials aren’t always practical or ethical to do. For instance, when testing a new vaccine against a disease for which there are existing, effective vaccines, such a trial would leave the placebo group unprotected from the disease. In such cases, it is considered acceptable to compare the new vaccine with an existing one.
