Two years after the outbreak of the corona plague, knowledge about the virus's damage - and also about the vaccine's contribution to overcoming it - is accumulating.
But this, unfortunately, does not prevent many online factors from disseminating incorrect and misleading information against the vaccine, thereby deterring others from vaccinating themselves and their children.
One of the people struggling with the disseminators of misinformation is the immunologist Dr. Erez Gerti, a member of the Davidson Institute, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Presenter Guide - The Pike News spread by vaccine opponents and corona deniers, and the facts that shatter the false claims.
Lie 1: The vaccine sample does not represent
Some claim that the vaccine has been tested in only 1,500 children, but the true number is much larger
First of all, the vaccine was tested directly on 3,000 children aged 11-5 - one group of 1,500, and another group at the request of the FDA.
But even this number, it is important to note, is small compared to the actual number of experimenters - and this is because this is not the first age group of young people who received the vaccine.
There is information on 7.3 million teenagers
(15-12) in the United States, and a quarter of a million teenagers in Israel, who have been vaccinated with a dose at a dose three times higher than the dose that children aged 11-5 will receive. This is important information that should not be ignored.
Erez Gerty, Photo: Without credit
Lie 2: The children are not in danger
"The disease does not harm children," claim the distributors of the lies, but the risk to children is muscular and exists, and it is worth defending against it.
The disease actually affects children - less so than adults, but children can certainly be harmed, even if they do not suffer from background diseases.
According to the Association of Pediatricians in Israel, the risk of hospitalization of children due to significant morbidity in Corona is 1 in 900 verified.
The risk of multisystem inflammation (life-threatening complication) a few weeks after recovery from corona, even if the child is mild or asymptomatic, is currently estimated at 1 in 3,200, with the complication being more common in children under 12 - most of them without background illnesses.
Beyond that, corona has another and very, very unpleasant complication - persistent symptoms (Long Covid).
These are symptoms that last for weeks to months after recovery, and include fatigue, difficulty breathing, dizziness and cognitive difficulties.
The incidence rate of this complication, according to strict estimates, stands at about one percent of children.
Lie 3: High risk of heart infection
It is claimed that the risk of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) is greater than that of corona complications. On the contrary
No, the risk of myocarditis is not really high.
And let’s start with the data and facts: Two rare side effects, which were identified near the time of vaccination, were myocarditis and pericarditis.
The first to report them was Prof. Dror Mevorach from Hadassah Medical Center.
First, this fact already illustrates well that the system works and does not hide anything.
According to his research findings, the chance of a side effect is about 1 in 6,600.
On the other hand, the risk of hospitalization due to significant coronary heart disease in children is about 1 in 900, seven times higher than the risk of mild myocarditis, which can lead to a short hospital stay.
But it certainly does not end there.
The risk of multisystem inflammation - a much life-threatening condition - is about 1 in 3,500.
And if I compare it to a complicated myocarditis, the risk is about 1 in 300,000 - a much lower risk.
Furthermore, in young people aged 15-12, the risk of mild myocarditis decreases (no severe cases have been documented in Israel).
In Israel, it stands at about 1 in 14,000.
Lie 4: A healthy child - not at risk
Anyone who thinks that healthy children are not harmed by Corona should think again: they can also have serious complications.
Healthy children are also affected by corona - for example, multisystem inflammation, a life-threatening corona complication that occurs in about 1 in 3,200 children.
Studies show that healthy children also suffer from this complication.
For example, in a first study that examined 953 children with multiple systemic inflammation, it was found that only a quarter of them were obese, and only 8% had background diseases.
that's it.
The Association of Pediatricians also noted that 61% of children with a serious illness did not have a background illness - and of these, 83% of children with multiple systemic inflammation did not have a background illness.
By the way, the same "background diseases" include not only cancer or immunosuppression, but also diabetes, neurological diseases, asthma and obesity - that is, quite a few children.
Child vaccines, Photo: Gideon Markovich
Lie 5: The vaccine harms fertility
It has not been proven that vaccinated women will have difficulty getting pregnant. Conversely, infected pregnant women are at increased risk
Let's start with the fact that this is a rumor that was spread before the first vaccine was developed, and it is a complete invention.
There is no evidence that the vaccine impairs the ability to conceive.
Several studies have been published on the subject in which women who attempted to conceive in fertility treatments participated, and no differences were observed between vaccinated and unvaccinated women.
Also, there is no evidence that the vaccine harms male fertility.
No pregnancies were observed in pregnant women following the vaccine;
On the other hand, pregnant women who become infected with corona are at increased risk for a serious illness, and it turns out that even for quiet births.
There are quite a few reports of disruptions in the cycle following the vaccine, but according to the health authorities in Europe and the UK - the disruptions pass shortly after, and the cycle returns to normal.
Fertility and gynecological associations in Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and, of course, Israel strongly recommend that women, girls and now also girls be vaccinated, and rule out a link between the vaccine and any fertility problems.
Lie 6: No infection protection
Very simple: vaccinated are better protected than those who have not been vaccinated, by any measure - and especially in protection against serious illness
The vaccine provides excellent protection against infection and serious illness, even against the Delta variant.
After half a year the protection from infection fades significantly, but really not to zero;
And protection from a serious illness fades less.
Immunized are more protected than those who are not vaccinated, by any measure.
A study from Puerto Rico showed that the vaccine fades to 56% efficacy within four months.
The same study noted that the vaccine was still effective in preventing hospitalization, serious illness and death.
In addition, a UK Health Authority study has shown a 70% reduction in infection prevention efficacy within five months, and almost no change in hospitalization and mortality prevention.
So true, the protection from infection goes down - but really not to zero.
Protection from a serious illness also fades, but much less.
Corona Department at Shaare Zedek Hospital (Archive) // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon,
Lie 7: Infection among vaccinated
Anyone who claims "infectious vaccines like those who have not been vaccinated" is very wrong - vaccinated people are less likely to be infected
"Vaccines are contagious like non-vaccinated, so why get vaccinated?", Vaccine opponents wonder.
To this he replied: Absolutely not, and even if it were true, what is the connection?
Let's assume for a moment that this is true (it is not).
When a person becomes infected with corona, the virus attacks its cells and multiplies within them.
It is a competition between the virus, which seeks to reproduce and reach a viral load high enough, and the immune system that strives to eliminate it in time.
Immunists are at lower risk of becoming infected, so the notion of "a person who is vaccinated is contagious as unvaccinated" is quite pointless.
Even if the same person were equally contagious - the more vaccinated they are, the fewer such cases there will be.
Some studies show that even in extreme conditions of household infection, vaccinated people have an advantage in protecting other people, for the duration and severity of the disease.
Lie 8: You should wait for the next vaccine
Until a vaccine adapted for the micron arrives, the next wave will be over. Vaccines are better protected from a serious illness
By the time the updated vaccine arrives, the next wave will be over, and we may already be in the next wave. One of the biggest concerns from the Omicron variant is the same concern we had about the Delta and its predecessors - that the vaccine would not work against it. Fortunately, the vaccine has worked against all variants, and I hope it will work this time as well.
Although the omicron contains new mutations, our immune system is amazing.
When we were vaccinated, it broke down the resulting protein into small pieces, and developed antibodies against them.
The result was a variety of antibodies against a variety of regions in the protein.
The protein has 1,273 sites that can change, of which more than 50 have indeed changed - most of them in the area responsible for the link to our cells, i.e. the infection.
It's not good, but not the end of the world: there are still enough antibodies that can detect the virus;
They may not neutralize it well, but they will signal it to the immune system that will attack it with large bites.
The result will be that those vaccinated (and recovering) may be more contagious, but will still probably have good protection from a serious illness.
There may be a tailored vaccine, but the development and testing processes are not short.
The FDA may lower the stringent requirements threshold, but this cannot be trusted, especially given the fact that the contagious variant is already here.
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