The COVID vaccine DOES NOT enter our DNA, and other False Statements and Refutations

The author of a recent study published in Cell Reports concludes, “From a public health point of view, we would say that there are no concerns that the virus or vaccines can be incorporated into human DNA.

The press release from the lab:
No, COVID-19 does not enter our DNA
https://qbi.uq.edu.au/article/2021/07/no-covid-19-does-not-enter-our-dna

The research paper:
No evidence of human genome integration of SARS-CoV-2 found by long-read DNA sequencing

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Thanks Jay. It would be nice if someone were to compile a list of all these fake talking points anti-vaxxers make and the documentation for refuting them, along with the latest studies as to effectiveness of the vaccine and relative risks, and post them to help us flood the internet with correct information. I would try but have life getting in the way for a few days. Anyone know of somewhere to find it already done?
It would also be fun to go back and quote all the Covid deniers statements and over the past year or so along with what really happened.
I got into it with a friend at church today, not a doctor of medicine but a professional health care provider, who was quoting some of the debunked media hound type doctors and scientists. I really did not want to, but when lies and distortions are put out there as legitimate facts, I have a hard time staying quiet. It is like these people spout this stuff out looking for affirmation. While I hate conflict, I can’t see letting them get away with such stuff unchallenged when lives are on the line.

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Just thinking, maybe we can make this post a list of false assertions and refutations of such, so as to be a resource for those facing arguments from friends and family and to keep everything in one place. Your post can be the first along those lines. I am off to do some housecleaning and if I survive will check back later. Will edit the title to reflect ongoing contributions.

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Yeah, that’s a good idea. For it to work, you probably should wave the magic moderator wand and highlight posts that refute disinformation with links to solid materials.

The first things that pop into my mind are “masks don’t work” and “the vaccine doesn’t work,” referring to breakthrough infections. I know I’ve seen peer-reviewed stuff on the efficacy of masks.The efficacy of the vaccine shouldn’t be too hard to demonstrate just with simple math and extrapolations from the number of vaxxed people who are hospitalized vs. number of vaxxed people in the general population. I can’t do it right now, but if no one has posted a link by tomorrow I’ll look some stuff up.

Snopes has a whole “collection” debunking rumors about masks:

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FactCheck.org has a lot of good articles on this, too (I heard about it thanks to @beaglelady )

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Let’s consider masks put to bed then. The next thing I’d like to see addressed, hopefully by someone else :wink:, is the disinformation that “the vaccine contains cells from aborted fetuses.”

On vaccine effectiveness in the age of Delta, this was the best and most well-balanced article I found:

The central distortion reflected in the Kaiser report — and echoed by communicators elsewhere, including in the Times — is the result of a basic error of comparison, one that should have been obvious to anyone familiar with the shape of the pandemic. Almost all of these calculations about the share of breakthrough cases have been made using year-to-date 2021 data …

Unfortunately, more accurate month-to-month data is hard to assemble — because the CDC stopped tracking most breakthrough cases in early May, before the Delta wave had begun…

According to those leaked CDC documents, there were, as of late last month, 35,000 symptomatic breakthrough cases being recorded each week — about 10 percent of the country’s total. Presumably many more breakthrough cases were asymptomatic, which would drive the share up further.

The vaccine effect is considerably more encouraging when it comes to the risk of severe disease and hospitalization on those 50 percent of the country — and 61 percent of adults — who have gotten the shots. According to Kaiser, the hospitalization rate for vaccinated people is, for most states, at or just below 0.01 percent — meaning one out of every 10,000 vaccinated people has been hospitalized. Over the past year, the hospitalization rate for the country as a whole is about 0.7 percent. From August 1, 2020 through August 3, 2021 there were, according to the CDC, 2.44 million hospitalizations in a country of 330 million. That is an enormous difference in protection against hospitalization — about 70-fold. But Delta is likely changing things here, as well. Even in low-breakthrough Virginia, for instance, there were 17 breakthrough hospitalizations, out of 430 total — about 4 percent, implying about a 17-fold reduction. Still very impressive, but notably lower than the effect implied by pre-Delta data.

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If people don’t trust the scientists they won’t trust the science either.
One can cite all the studies and such and you still won’t make much of a difference in the minds of those whos minds are made up.
Doesn’t matter if we have NEVER had long term studies In terms of years) for any vaccine, other than real time when people get vaccinated.
Doesn’t matter that the difference between short term and long term effects is 3 months ( most long term effects show up 3 months after the initial 3 months of the short term effects).
Doesn’t matter that influenza vaccines have always had a diminishing effectiveness and that “boosters” are always used.
People will believe what they want to believe.

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This is stated in a misleading way. Side effects of vaccines are apparent within three months. Negative effects might last longer than three months and become “long-term effects,” but there is no such thing as someone who has no side-effects to the vaccine in the initial three month window and then has a long-term effect of the vaccine “show up” after three months. It is the fear of unknown “side effects” that show up years later that the anti-vaccine crowd is peddling. These hypothetical side effects that appear years later are figments of their imagination, not a real medical possibility.

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Yes, that is very well stated. Thank you.

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But why do they trust random stuff posted on Facebook? That’s the question that keeps coming to my mind.

There is an idea in psychology that the job of the conscious mind is to create justifications for what the subconscious mind has already decided. I’m beginning to think there is some merit in that idea.

That is what Haidt said in The Righteous Mind. The elephant (emotions) goes where it wants to go, and the rider (intellect) only influences it a little and gives it a nudge, but ultimately the elephant decides. I guess the trick is to convince the elephant that it wants a vaccine, and I think seeing the numbers of Covid go up to where almost everyone has had a friend or family member die or critically ill has created enough of an emotional response to move them toward vaccination.

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Conative Dissonance.
As long as it fits their narrative, as long as it fits what they want to believe, makes them feel good about their position maybe even make them feel like THEY KNOW the truth, then that works for them.

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It would also be nice if one could have a ready made list of studies addressing the issue and showing masks offer significant protection from getting and spreading covid. I see many still claiming “there isn’t a single study showing masks help stop covid.” It would b e nice to just say here you go and dump links on them.

Some may even feel that many of the current mask studies happened in conjunction with social distancing measures and lockdowns and its thus impossible to determine mask efficacy with covid specifically. I didn’t see any of that adressed on the Snope’s link.

I think it could also helps to just be pro science. Short, highly visual videos showing how respiratory droplets work and explaining the physics behind masking and point-source control could be helpful. Many people have already made up their mind and combatting them head on might not be the most effective method. Just increasing trust and awareness in science is a good route. I say this all as a person who is not longer masking unless mandated to and one who really doesn’t want to wear a mask in school this year. Hard to be effective at teaching and to build bonds with students without facial expressions.

This week’s special media round-up:

"It's funny how when Covid first rolled out the "experts" said the kids weren't getting it. Now that people aren't buying their b**** anymore about Covid, masks and the vax, they're playing the kids card to scare people."

"Why have them wear the ask at there desk. When you go out to eat you don't need to wear it at the table."

"Children need to breathe. There is no data that shows children get or pass COVID from other children or to adults in any significant capacity. Masks on children do more harm than good."

"not to mention masks do not stop the spread of a virus. A mask is like a catchers mitt not a wall. It literally catches and holds all of the air particles around it. Technically we are hurting ourselves and weakening our immune systems by wearing a mask. **There is not one study that justifies wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a virus. I will give you a million dollars if you find one.** Forcing our children to wear masks all day is horrendous and closer to child abuse than protection."

I am not sure if that last user actually has a million dollars to give. But these people don’t actually believe Snopes or fact checkers are legit. They don’t believe or trust the CDC. Short of Donald Trump going on a multi-million dollar get your vaccine campaign, things are going to have to get far worse than they are to convince many of these hold outs. Or privately owned businesses will simply have to force mandatory vaccinations on employees. I think that sets a dangerous precedent however, but this is getting too political. At any rate, short, concise and simple answers will be best. If you can’t rebut these claims only a short paragraph at most, your response will probably be lost.

Vinnie

Also:

For a segment of the population, no amount of facts or science will change their mind.

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There’s the problem – lack of good thinking.

Your Snopes link about “Mask off” appears to be broken. It probably changed since you posted that 5 days ago.

It just worked fine for me. Maybe it was a temporary glitch.

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Came across this course, may be good for those of you with kids who want to introduce them to critical examination of internet fallacies as well as adults who want to better understand research and how to interpret it:
https://www.coursera.org/learn/medical-research.

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People who question the effectiveness of masks need to ask themselves one question: Why was there virtually no flu season last winter, and only 1(!) pediatric death from flu in 2020-21? The answer is masks work.

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