The Mainstream Media Now is Reporting on Waning Covid Vaccine Immunity! By Brian Simpson
“What We Know So Far about Waning Vaccine Effectiveness,” by Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Josh Holder, is an article published a few days ago at the New York Times, which is as mainstream as one can get. And, it reports on waning Covid Vaccine effectiveness. Of course, this is not advanced as a vaccine critique, but for booster shots. But, logically, it means shots forever, and by the convergence theorems of probability, an almost certain risk of some adverse effect over an infinity or trials. There is something mighty wrong here.
“A study in England examined the vaccines’ effectiveness against the Delta variant over time. It found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is about 90 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infection two weeks after the second dose but drops to 70 percent effective after five months.
The same study found that the Moderna vaccine’s protection also drops over time.
A study in the U.S. and another in Canada looked at the vaccines’ effectiveness at preventing any infection from Delta, symptomatic or not. Although they found different levels of decline, both studies found that the vaccines’ protection dropped over time.
But both the English and Canadian studies found that even after several months, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines remain highly effective at preventing hospitalization.
Each of the three studies showed a different rate of decline in vaccine effectiveness, which can vary in studies depending on factors including location, the study’s methods and any behavior differences between those who have been vaccinated and the unvaccinated. While one of the above studies has been published, the other two have not yet been peer reviewed. Still, experts say that the research generally shows consistent trends.
“The main objective of the Covid vaccine is to prevent severe disease and death, and they are still doing a good job at that,” said Melissa Higdon, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who leads a project to compile research on Covid vaccine performance.
But the decline in protection against infection will have an impact, she added.
“With true declines in vaccine effectiveness, we’ll likely see more cases overall,” said Ms. Higdon.
Data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show similar trends for the mRNA vaccines, and they also suggest that the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is less effective against severe outcomes and infection than Pfizer or Moderna.
These results have helped to shape current booster recommendations in the U.S.: Among Pfizer and Moderna recipients, those 65 and older are eligible six months after their second shots, as are adults at high risk. Any adult immunized with Johnson & Johnson may also elect to get a booster after two months.
Pfizer and BioNTech asked the F.D.A. this week to authorize boosters for all adults. But experts have been divided over whether booster shots are necessary for those beyond the most vulnerable.
There has been more agreement among experts about the need to offer extra protection to adults over 65. The declines observed in vaccine effectiveness for this age group may have greater repercussions, since older people face a higher risk of hospitalization from Covid.
“For those over 65, getting a booster helps cover your bases to make sure you are extra-, extra-protected, because the consequences are higher,” said Eli Rosenberg, the deputy director for science in the Office of Public Health at the New York State Department of Health, who has studied Covid vaccine effectiveness.
Seniors are also most likely to be affected by waning vaccine immunity now, since they were among the first to be vaccinated in the U.S. About 71 percent of people aged 65 and older — about 36 million people — completed their initial vaccination series more than six months ago. So far, about 31 percent have received a booster shot.
An additional 69 million people in the U.S. under the age of 65, more than a quarter of that age group, are also past that six-month mark. Not all are eligible for booster shots, though the federal government may soon decide to extend eligibility for the Pfizer booster to everyone 18 and older.
Other countries, including Israel and Canada, have already authorized booster shots for all adults. Early data from Israel show that booster shots are effective at protecting against infection and hospitalization, at least in the short term.
But experts worry that a national focus on boosters will detract from what should be the country’s most important goal.
“It’s easy with all the discussion about boosters to lose that really important message that the vaccines are still working,” said Dr. Rosenberg. “Going from an unvaccinated to a vaccinated person is still the critical step.”
Notes: Studies on Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness were accessed through VIEW-hub, a project of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which screens and compiles this research based on a strict methodology. With the help of project investigators, The Times selected research studies that showed data on the duration of vaccine protection since the date of full vaccination, while Delta was the dominant variant. Data on the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine did not meet these selection criteria.”
Never does it occur to the mainstream that the waning effectiveness indicates a major problem with the vaccines, or if it does, the thoughts are banished in a cloud of cognitive dissonance.
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