Thread by @ToddZywicki

Now for intellectually dishonest garbage. The AP did a "Fact Check" on the Denmark study that found negative 42% VE for two doses of Pfizer v O. apnews.com/article/fact-c… "Experts" who speculate (with no evidence) the findings MUST be invalid because of behavioral biases...

such as "behavioral differences, such as vaccinated individuals engaging in more activities that could lead to exposure." Jeffrey Morris, adds the results were “more likely to be an artifact of some selection bias effect than any inherently higher risk.”

Now we know from our everyday experience that it VACCINATED people who are more likely to fear Covid and to take precautions such as vaccination, masks, and social distancing. And of course there are reams of data that support that.

nbcnews.com/health/health-… "62% percent of vaxxed adults said the variant had prompted them to continue masking in public places, and 61% percent said they avoided large gatherings.

"37% of unvaxxed adults [were] prompted to wear masks, and 40% steered clear of crowds."

Unvaccinated individuals are also less likely to worry about getting Covid and getting sick from it if they do. kff.org/coronavirus-co… We are supposed to believe that those who are MOST worried about Covid are also more likely to engage in high-exposure activity? Seriously?

Those who are unvaxxed are also more likely to report they "trust other people" more than those who are vaxxed. osf.io/4cr7a/ Again, we are supposed to believe that those who don't trust their neighbors are the ones who are going out and mixing in public?

More to the point--does anyone seriously believe for a moment that if the "experts" actually thought about it, they would realize how preposterous this is? It is not intellectually credible. Complete confirmation bias and rationalizing what they "know" to be the answer.

And to flag that final piece of evidence--the distrust of the vaxxed for their fellow neighbors--that explains a lot about the pandemic social dynamics and the obsession of many authoritarians to control their fellow citizens and check their papers for compliance. Not science.

And then the final piece--we are supposed to believe that these supposed "behavioral biases" have NEVER befouled prior studies of other variants? Or any of the studies that showed positive VE?

Including in THAT STUDY ITSELF which shows unusually high VE for Delta and modest waning. The supposed biases are ONLY for Omicron and not Delta? Do these people listen to themselves? Is the AP Reporter that much of a credulous hack? (Yes, I know, a rhetorical question).

Look--lives are at risk here. We are trying to understand complex phenomena in real-time. Simply making up ridiculous stories and calling it "SCIENCE!" isn't going to help us figure out if there is a real problem here and what we should do. Appalling and irresponsible.