First, let's talk about the origin of this myth. It originated with anti-vaccine advocates who alleged that the spike protein targeted by the vaccine is "disturbingly similar" to a protein found in the placenta.
This claim has no basis in science or reality. /2
As Dr. Paul Offit wrote in a @Hill op-ed, "To say that these two proteins are disturbingly similar would be the equivalent of saying that two people share the same social security number because both contain the number six." /3 thehill.com/opinion/health…
In fact, “getting covid is what causes harm, including preterm birth, stillbirth, being very sick during pregnancy, and, in some cases, even the mom dying," @DrAngieAng told me. "The vaccine helps to protect against that.” /4
.@DrAngieAng also advises patient pre-conception: Getting inoculated is important for women planning to conceive, because “you want to do everything you can to be healthy. The vaccine will build up your immune system to protect you and your future baby.” /5
I also spoke with @drevefeinberg. She tells patients and concerned parents at her children’s school that her 15-year-old and twin 12-year-olds are vaccinated and that she is “not one bit worried” about the infertility claim. Her excellent @STAT piece: /6 statnews.com/2021/03/25/inf…
Bottom line: There is no scientific reason to fear long-term consequences from vaccines, given our decades of experience with many immunizations. Also, while any long-term risk from vaccination is purely hypothetical, the risk from covid-19 is very real and present. /END
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Of the 323 documented cases in those under 30, nearly 80% are known to have recovered. 9 are still hospitalized, 2 are in intensive care. No one has died.
Most myocarditis cases are mild, treatable and do not leave lasting effects.
And covid itself causes myocarditis. /2
Second, adolescents & young adults now constitute 33% of all new #covid19 cases.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 7.7 million infections in the 12 to 29 age group, resulting in 2,767 deaths.
More than 300 of these deaths occurred since April 1. /3
This is not a hypothetical concern. According to @StopAAPIHate, over 6,600 anti-AAPI incidents have been reported since the pandemic started.
Many are related to blaming AAPIs for #covid19. Speculating on culpability could provoke more acts of harm against our community. /2
I interviewed @RepJudyChu: “So many are concerned that after a year of AAPIs being blamed for coronavirus, this could further hatred & discrimination... We need to get to the truth & we need to be careful in our messaging so as to not further stoke the flames of xenophobia.” /3
The CDC's new guidance has devolved into a giant mess. It was a major blunder to cede responsibility: Effectively ending mask mandates is not just about science--it's a major policy decision that should have been made by President Biden himself.🧵
To be clear, it was appropriate for the CDC, as a scientific agency, to review the data & come out with a statement that vaccinated people are at little risk for contracting #covid19 & spreading it to others.
But they went way beyond this to basically end all indoor masking. /2
Arguably, this was the single biggest decision that the Biden team has made on #covid19, yet the president himself didn't find out about it until the morning of the announcement.
Don't get me wrong--the vaccinated are very well protected. They are safe to take off masks if they wish.
The problem is: do we trust the honor system for people to now go maskless? What about the danger to people who can't be vaccinated (i.e. kids) or the immunocompromised? /2
The CDC recommendation removes a powerful incentive. Many who were on the fence might have been motivated to get the shot because they could go back to activities they were missing, without a mask.
Now, if no one is checking, and they can do everything anyway, why bother? /3
The US is in an "in-between" place. Vaccination substantially reduces #covid19 risk but doesn't eliminate it. There isn't one right answer & people will make different choices from one another.
For vaccinated people, consider three factors when deciding which activities to bring back to your lives: 1) Medical risk of your household 2) Personal risk tolerance (more on this soon) 3) Risk of specific activities
Risk tolerance is a key point. People will have wildly different interpretations of the same statistics. Some want to keep hunkering down. Others will decide that once vaccinated, they can take off their masks and return to pre-pandemic normal. Most are somewhere in between.
Imagine, if at last night's #JointSession, President Biden allowed only vaccinated individuals. They could take off their masks, hug & sit together--just like 2019.
According to the CDC's own data, there were only 7,157 breakthrough infections among 87 million fully vaccinated people — a rate of 0.008%.
A room of 1,600 is unlikely to have anyone infected. Testing would reduce the likelihood to zero. /2
You wouldn’t know that the vaccines are so effective based on CDC guidelines.
A very damaging narrative is taking hold: If the vaccines are so effective, then why so many precautions for the fully vaccinated? What’s the point of getting inoculated if not much changes? /3