Debunking Antivax & Conspirituality Misinformation

The study authors have requested the paper be retracted because the incorrect data 'vastly inflates the incidence of post-vaccine myocarditis'

Startling news of a legal advocacy organization hiring a private investigator to drum up dirt on a Manitoba judge has put an otherwise little-known charity on headlines across the province – the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

With new coronavirus variants continuing to emerge, the development of a so-called universal vaccine offering broad, long-term protection needs to be the focus of an intense effort, one that may share characteristics of the widely hailed Operation Warp Speed, scientists suggest.

The Quebec Health Ministry has confirmed the death of a woman in the province after the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine she received in early April led to a rare blood clot in her brain.

Months into a pandemic that has killed nearly 500,000 people worldwide, scientists are still trying to answer crucial questions about the coronavirus.

Interim Com-COV2 trial data evaluated two-dose COVID-19 vaccination regimens with first dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) alongside second dose as either homologous vaccination, heterologous NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax) vaccination, or heterologous mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccination.1 These data showed that ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination followed by NVX-CoV2373 vaccination drove optimal T-cell immunogenicity and excellent antibody induction. These heterologous vaccine approach findings are now likely to be extrapolated in developing scheduling strategies for other vaccines.

There’s still a long way to go, but RNA vaccines might help in the fight against malaria.

An extra 19 488 Canadians died during the COVID-19 pandemic than would have been expected normally, according to Statistics Canada. However, additional deaths from COVID-19, delayed medical care and a rise in substance use were likely offset by fewer deaths from influenza and other causes thanks to

Claims about the drug are based on shoddy science—but that science is entirely unremarkable in its shoddiness.

People who recover from mild COVID-19 have bone-marrow cells that can churn out antibodies for decades, although viral variants could dampen some of the protection they offer.

The Informed Consent Action Network, one of the most notorious anti-vax groups in the world, has been seeking to broker ties with Trump supporters.

Extremists are being pitted against moderate centre-right voters in the next chapter of the culture wars, says academic and author Paolo Gerbaudo

New messenger RNA vaccines to fight the coronavirus are based on a technology that could transform medicine. Next up: sickle cell and HIV.

Approving COVID-19 booster shots seemed like a slam dunk, but two influential advisory boards raised a host of complicated questions.

Governments are launching booster programmes over fears about waning immunity levels, but vaccines are still highly effective at what matters most – preventing severe disease.

They need consequences, not sympathy.

"The vaccines were transformational," said one doctor. "It was sort of a very visible miracle."

Once, people were asking to be exempted from measures that kept the public safe. Now the reverse is happening.

Scientists analyzed data from patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms through the Delta variant's surge.

In the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, only a small number of the more than 6,000 hospitals in the U.S. let journalists inside.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick explains why the risk of vaccine side-effects is relatively low and warns about the dangers of vaccine misinformation on Joe Rogan's podcast.

Three charts released by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table demonstrate the vast difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people when it comes to COVID-19 risks.

The comedian seems to have found a loyal fan base in conservatives and anti-vaxxers who have flocked to his YouTube and Facebook accounts for his rambling vaccine-skeptic views.

Vaccination mandates are a reasonable response to the spread of the variant

Background Pre-Delta, vaccination reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission from individuals infected despite vaccination, potentially via reducing viral loads. While vaccination still lowers the risk of infection, similar viral loads in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with Delta question how much vaccination prevents transmission. Methods We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of adult contacts of SARS-CoV-2-infected adult index cases using English contact testing data. We used multivariable Poisson regression to investigate associations between transmission and index case and contact vaccination, and how these vary with Alpha and Delta variants (classified using S-gene detection/calendar trends) and time since second vaccination. Results 54,667/146,243(37.4%) PCR-tested contacts of 108,498 index cases were PCR-positive. Two doses of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 vaccines in Alpha index cases were independently associated with reduced PCR-positivity in contacts (aRR, adjusted rate ratio vs. unvaccinated=0.32[95%CI 0.21-0.48] and 0.48[0.30-0.78] respectively). The Delta variant attenuated vaccine-associated reductions in transmission: two BNT162b2 doses reduced Delta transmission (aRR=0.50[0.39-0.65]), more than ChAdOx1 (aRR=0.76[0.70-0.82]). Variation in Ct values (indicative of viral load) explained 7-23% of vaccine-associated transmission reductions. Transmission reductions declined over time post-second vaccination, for Delta reaching similar levels to unvaccinated individuals by 12 weeks for ChAdOx1 and attenuating substantially for BNT162b2. Protection in contacts also declined in the 3 months post-second vaccination. Conclusions Vaccination reduces transmission of Delta, but by less than the Alpha variant. The impact of vaccination decreased over time. Factors other than PCR Ct values at diagnosis are important in understanding vaccine-associated transmission reductions. Booster vaccinations may help control transmission together with preventing infections. ### Competing Interest Statement DWE declares lecture fees from Gilead outside the submitted work. No other author has a conflict of interest to declare. ### Funding Statement This study was funded by the UK Government's Department of Health and Social Care. This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at Oxford University in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) (NIHR200915), and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research, the Department of Health or Public Health England. DWE is a Robertson Foundation Fellow and an NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Fellow. ASW is an NIHR Senior Investigator. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was performed as public health surveillance and NHS Test and Trace program quality assurance, under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 with approvals from Public Health England (PHE), the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Test and Trace. PHE's Research Ethics and Governance Group (PHE's Research Ethics Committee) reviewed the study protocol and confirmed compliance with all regulatory requirements. As no regulatory or ethical issues were identified, it was agreed that full ethical review was not needed, and the protocol was approved. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes Applications to use the data in this study can be made to NHS Digital's Data Access Request Service, please see for more details.