Search Results for covid-19

Study led by UCSF researchers didn’t study vaccinated people’s susceptibility to variants; it found vaccine breakthrough cases to be a minority of infections

COVID-19 vaccination has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of infection, hospitalization, and death. Although certain virus variants like Delta are better at evading protection conferred by COVID-19 vaccination, this doesn’t undercut their protective value. Unvaccinated people are more likely to get infected and die from COVID-19, even from virus variants, as compared to vaccinated people.

Male sterility isn’t a proven side effect of ivermectin, contrary to claims by social media users

Ivermectin is a broad-spectrum anti-parasite drug approved for use in treating parasitic diseases, such as river blindness and strongyloidiasis. While there have been a handful of reports about altered sperm quality in humans and rats treated with ivermectin, these studies were affected by certain issues such as a lack of a control (untreated) group and small sample sizes. Based on the overall scientific evidence available to date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t consider sterility to be a side effect of ivermectin.

Claims that people were being killed by zidovudine (AZT) instead of AIDS are unsubstantiated

Zidovudine, also known as AZT, was the first FDA-approved HIV drug; it received approval after it was shown to lower AIDS mortality at least in the short term. Due to its high toxicity, fast-tracked approval, and the development of viral resistance when zidovudine is given as a monotherapy, the drug is controversial although it is still used today in combination HIV therapy. The claim that more people were killed by zidovudine than AIDS itself during the 80s and 90s comes from a speculative quote in a 1989 article by an AIDS denialist. Anthony Fauci, as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), became the face of the U.S. government when it came to the AIDS epidemic, which included speaking to the media about zidovudine and its benefits. As the first FDA approved HIV drug, zidovudine was prescribed by many doctors treating HIV patients, and Fauci wasn’t the only doctor to promote zidovudine.

Vaccine boosters help maintain protection provided by initial vaccination; boosters have been used for routine vaccinations like tetanus and polio for decades

Vaccination against COVID-19 protects against severe disease and death. But this protection may wane over time, making it necessary for people to receive another dose of the vaccine (booster) to maintain protection. COVID-19 vaccines aren’t the only vaccines to require boosters. Boosters are also part of several well-established vaccinations, such as those against tetanus and polio, and are part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule in the U.S. Whether a booster shot is necessary depends on the duration of protection afforded by a vaccine, and this varies depending on the disease and the vaccine in question.

Multiple scientific studies suggest that masking can help limit transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools, contrary to claim in Federalist article

Many studies show that the use of masks in schools can limit the transmission of the virus, especially when complemented by other preventative measures like ventilation. Using a single study that found a non-statistically significant decrease in COVID-19 incidence in schools with mask requirements compared to schools with optional masking to claim there’s no science to back mask mandates overstates scientific confidence. Additionally, while it is true that the risk of serious illness and death is far higher in adults than children, children can still experience severe COVID-19 and die. The main benefit of masks in schools is to protect both children and the community at large by reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Study in Vietnam showed that Delta infection results in a higher viral load compared to earlier strains, not that vaccinated people are more infectious than unvaccinated people

Multiple studies indicate that Delta variant infection results in a higher viral load compared to infection by the original strain and other variants. However, COVID-19 vaccination remains highly effective at protecting people from illness and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant, which is now the predominant strain in the world. And while the level of protection from infection by vaccines is lower against the Delta variant, vaccinated people still have a lower risk of infection compared to those who are unvaccinated.

Compared to unvaccinated people, vaccinated individuals are more protected against the Delta variant

Multiple studies show that fully vaccinated people possess neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant that hamper the ability of the virus to infect the cells. Although the Delta variant can partially evade vaccine-induced immunity, vaccination lowers the risk of developing symptomatic and severe disease. While infected people who are vaccinated show similar viral loads to unvaccinated people, the viral load decreases more quickly in vaccinated people, suggesting that the period during which they are contagious is shorter. This would reduce their capacity for transmission.

VAERS reports may initiate investigations into potential associations between a vaccine and adverse events, but on their own cannot prove causality

Reports in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System aren’t in themselves evidence that the vaccine was the cause of the adverse event. To date, more than 187 million people in the U.S. received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 162 million are fully vaccinated. Comparing the number of deaths among vaccinated people to that of the background rate of death shows that vaccinated people aren’t more likely to die compared to unvaccinated people. The benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use outweigh their risks.