Gov. Ron DeSantis, the shaky Republican presidential candidate, appears to be repeating every lie he thinks will appeal to the Trump faction of the Republican Party. One of his more egregious examples is his recent actions. assertion: „Each booster you take increases your chance of contracting the coronavirus as a result.“ Complete bullshit.
It's not clear where the governor got his misinformation, but the internet is full of similar false YouTube claims of anti-coronavirus vaccines. grifter Like John Campbell, a former British nurse educator. So what actually happens?
The governor's claims likely stem from a likely intentional misinterpretation of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released in August 2023. risk assessment A summary of the potential effectiveness of current coronavirus vaccines against the then-new coronavirus BA.2.86 variant. Coronavirus vaccines are formulated to target specific variants of the virus. The latest booster targets are XBB.1.5 A variant of Omicron. But the virus is constantly mutating, spitting out new variants that can break through the immune defenses stimulated by boosters to fight the XBB.1.5 variant. This is the issue that the CDC's August assessment aimed to address with reference to the BA.2.86 variant.
The CDC summary states:
Based on information the CDC currently has, existing tests used to detect COVID-19 and drugs used to treat it appear to be effective against this variant. BA.2.86 may be more likely to cause infection in people who have previously been infected with COVID-19 or have received a COVID-19 vaccine. (emphasis added). Scientists are evaluating the effectiveness of upcoming and updated COVID-19 vaccines. The CDC's current assessment indicates that this latest vaccine is effective in reducing severe illness and hospitalization. There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease. That assessment may change as further scientific data is developed. The CDC will continue to share more information.
anti-vaccine scammer twisted (Intentionally?) Turn the highlighted sentence into a headline like, „CDC finally admits vaccinated people are more susceptible to coronavirus than unvaccinated people.“It was so No such thing.
Read the text again: BA.2.86 is more likely to cause infection in people who have previously been infected with COVID-19 or have been vaccinated against COVID-19. There is a gender.
Clearly, all the paper is saying is that this new variant may be able to evade the immune defenses posed by the virus. which one infectious diseases and vaccinations.That is, both have been infected before. and Vaccinated people may be more susceptible to the new BA.2.86 variant. It cannot be said that vaccinated people are more likely to get infected with the new coronavirus.
In response to this online criticism, the CDC attached Clarification to that risk assessment was made in September (although I don't see why a risk assessment would be needed if people had basic reading comprehension). It is stated as follows:
The initial risk assessment published by the CDC regarding BA.2.86 states, “BA.2.86 is highly recommended for people who have previously been infected with COVID-19 or who have received a COVID-19 vaccine. It contained the phrase, „may be more likely to cause infection.'' Although the intent of this sentence was to raise the possibility that BA.2.86 is more likely to cause infections compared to other variants currently in circulation, this sentence has been misunderstood by some. Masu. Vaccination remains the best protection against the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death.COVID-19 vaccines also reduce the chance of infection long coronavirus.
Of course, I agree with the CDC. seriously damaged that trust In the midst of a pandemic, only a conspiracy-obsessed person would argue that everything researchers are reporting now must always be false.
Whatever the CDC's past sins, the fact remains that viruses continue to mutate. The latest and increasingly popular variant is called JN.1. Virologists believe the JN.1 variant may be the most contagious version yet. However, the good news is that current boosters developed for the XBB.1.5 variant continue to provide protection against the worst outcomes of JN.1 infection (hospitalization and death).
As a news article on January 12th American Medical Association Journal (JAMA) report“Fortunately, laboratory studies and COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality rates suggest that the XBB.1.5 vaccine can still prevent severe disease in the JN.1 era.”
“The purpose of vaccination is to reduce severity „The cause of the disease,'' Kei Sato, a virologist at the University of Tokyo, explained. Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. „Many people think that the purpose of vaccination is to prevent infection, but that is incorrect.“
It would be great if the coronavirus vaccine had permanent effects. Sterilizing immunity This is mostly the case with measles and polio vaccines, but current vaccines significantly protected Save people from the worst consequences of COVID-19.Let's hope that research will be done to create universal new coronavirus vaccine It will bear fruit sooner or later.
In any case, pandering presidential candidates should refrain from telling voters anti-vaccine lies.
Disclosure: I received a booster shot with the XBB.1.5 vaccine in September.