No scientific evidence supports the claim that COVID-19 vaccination weakens the immune system. On the contrary, vaccination helps our immune system to better defend itself against infection. Large-scale clinical trials and scientific studies found that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh their risks.
Hepatitis B represents a major global health problem that poses a particular threat to infants and children under six. These populations have a much higher risk of developing chronic infections and complications such as cirrhosis, cancer, and even death. However, safe and effective vaccines are available as part of the recommended childhood immunization schedules. Vaccination has greatly reduced the rate of new cases per year and the development of chronic infection in young children from perinatal or early childhood exposure to the virus.
In February 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its developmental milestone checklists. The new checklists aim to improve the early detection of autism and developmental delays. This strategy would allow families and physicians to better identify those children who can benefit from early intervention programs, which in many cases, can help them to catch up to their peers.
Although infrequent, some people who recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection can get reinfected and potentially transmit the virus to others. COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe illness and death and can also benefit those who were previously infected by enhancing their protective immunity.
The spread of the Delta variant has caused new COVID-19 surges in many countries, including Israel. Data from Israel indicates that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has a lower effectiveness (64%) against infection and symptomatic illness with this variant, but the vaccine remains highly effective at preventing 93% of serious illnesses. Hence, Israel is now seeing fewer COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths compared to previous waves. This shows that COVID-19 vaccines are a safer way of acquiring immunity than infection and effectively protect people from illness and death.
The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 allows the virus to bind to and infect cells, making it an ideal target for vaccine development. Recent studies suggested that the spike protein produced during infection alone might cause cardiovascular damage in COVID-19 patients. While the three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S. induce the cells to produce the spike protein, the protein generated through vaccination behaves differently from the spike protein produced in infection. Clinical trials and ongoing vaccination campaigns, which have vaccinated more than 890 million people worldwide, demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccines are very safe and effective at preventing the disease.
The U.S. National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program awards compensation to people for claims alleging vaccine injury, even when a causal relationship between the vaccine and the injury isn’t established. Like any medical intervention, vaccines come with side effects. Common side effects, like fever and soreness at the injection site, are mild and short-lived. While serious side effects like anaphylaxis can occur, these are rare compared to the risk of illness, disability, and death associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, the benefits of vaccines outweigh their risks.
Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect individuals and communities from potentially harmful diseases. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that vaccines and their ingredients are safe. On the whole, evidence indicates that the current U.S. population is healthier than previous generations, with a longer life expectancy and higher infant survival rate. This is due in part to the elimination of vaccine-preventable diseases and the complications associated with these diseases.
COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration demonstrated a high level of safety and efficacy in clinical trials. However, limited data is available regarding the safety and efficacy of these vaccines in pregnant women because they were excluded from initial clinical trials. Available evidence from animal studies and ongoing vaccine safety monitoring suggests that COVID-19 vaccines don’t pose any specific risk for pregnant women. In contrast, pregnant women have an increased risk of suffering complications from COVID-19, which may affect pregnancy outcomes.
Vaccines are considered one of the greatest medical achievements. They have eradicated smallpox and reduced global child mortality and long-lasting disabilities from vaccine-preventable diseases. Besides being effective in preventing the spread of contagious diseases, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that vaccines are also safe and do not increase the risk of developmental, neurological, or autoimmune conditions. Vaccines undergo extensive testing for safety and efficacy before license and are continuously monitored even after approval to identify any safety issue. Therefore, the proven benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.
