A handful of people seem intent on fear-mongering about the COVID-19 vaccines, which are working wonders. Unfortunately, some in the media are contributing to misplaced anxiety and doubts, doing things like posting misleading headlines about people dying after receiving vaccine shots, when the the accompanying articles demonstrate that the death was entirely unrelated to the inoculation. Some public officials have fed into this problem. Here's another example of counter-productive sensationalism, from NBC News:
4 people in Oregon have tested positive for the coronavirus after receiving both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, health officials said. https://t.co/bZKxw3POS6
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 14, 2021
Some marginally-engaged people will glance at this and determine that the shots don't really work, so what's the point? In reality, roughly 200,000 Oregonians have been fully vaccinated (two doses, as of this past weekend) against Coronavirus, and from what we know, a total of four of them contracted COVID -- all four cases "are either mild or asymptomatic." Rather than fueling doubts about the vaccines, this is proof of how well they're working. We know that none of the vaccines are 100 percent effective, which is true of vaccines against other diseases as well. But they are highly, highly effective. The immunization will not work for a small fraction of people, but as we've noted before, all five active/near active COVID vaccines are virtually 100 percent effective against very severe cases and death. The Oregon situation underscores this point; even those who are in the tiny minority of exceptions (not fully immune from the virus post-inoculation) are still overwhelmingly likely to avoid dangerous bouts. This is an unequivocal success story. Meanwhile, in Israel:
94 Percent Drop in Symptomatic COVID Cases Seen Among Vaccinated, Biggest Israeli Study Shows https://t.co/7BEXA5iC2e
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) February 14, 2021
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The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has produced a 94 percent drop in symptomatic coronavirus cases, a study published Sunday by the Clalit health maintenance organization's research institute says. The study analyzed 1.2 million Clalit members, including 600,000 who had received the Pfizer vaccine and 600,000 who had not. The inoculated group produced 94 percent fewer symptomatic COVID-19 cases, and 92 percent fewer cases of serious illness. The vaccine, the study found, was equally effective for all age groups, including people aged 70 and older – a group for which Pfizer’s clinical trials had not produced conclusive data, as too few people of this age participated.
Fantastic news all around. Israel has been the world leader, by far, in distributing vaccines to its citizens -- currently having administered more than 70 doses per 100 people (by comparison, the US is in 4th place globally, at over 16 doses per 100 people). So what they're learning over there is extremely useful. The fact that symptomatic cases have fallen off a cliff as millions of Israelis have gotten their shots is outstanding, as is the detail about the cure working equally well for the most elderly citizens. Israel is essentially acting as the world's biggest vaccine trial (the actual trials established safety and efficacy) and the results are beyond heartening. More:
When lockdown is getting me down, I like to look at Israeli hospital data pic.twitter.com/XzOpVzm1aH
— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) February 15, 2021
As vaccinations are completed, Israel's COVID hospitalizations have absolutely plummeted. That is how we get back to normal life. I can't wait. Here at home, maddeningly, political actors are standing in the way of sound public policy. In case you missed it yesterday, the Vice President has decided to resurrect the Biden team's initial, debunked lie about inheriting no vaccine distribution plan from the Trump administration. In fact, Team Trump handed them two approved vaccines and a strong trajectory of vaccinations -- to the extent that the US was already on track to exceed Biden's 'first 100 days' goal by the time he was sworn in. That's what the new president inherited. Axios pointed out in a tweet that even Dr. Fauci has swatted down the slander that Harris is choosing to repeat:
.@VP Harris to @mikeallen: "There was no national strategy or plan for [COVID-19] vaccinations. … We're starting from scratch."
— Axios (@axios) February 14, 2021
At a press conference last month, Fauci said "we certainly are not starting from scratch" on vaccine distribution. #AxiosonHBO pic.twitter.com/TdYnOHN1Bw
Can't see the tweet? That's because Axios deleted it and erased the fact-check of Harris in their replacement tweet. 'Accountability journalism' has a very different flavor in the Biden era so far, does it not? In any case, the Biden White House did not stand up this reality in a matter of weeks. Obviously. She's lying to steal credit from President Trump. And a lot of credit is due all around:
It's time to say it: The U.S. vaccination drive, for all its stumbles, is world-beating.
— Noah Smith ?? (@Noahpinion) February 15, 2021
Here's my explanation for why it's world-beating, and who deserves the credit, and what this says about America.https://t.co/lIIxZiqaLf
And yes, in spite of worries about other variants of the virus (more transmissible, less resistant to antibodies) spreading, the US data has improved dramatically:
The COVID case decline isn't a statistical artifact of less testing.
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) February 15, 2021
Yes, tests have come down a bit. But positive-test rates have fallen way, way more, especially in the west and midwest. And nationwide hospitalizations are down 50% in the last month. pic.twitter.com/3Ol0NvFJB7
We recently covered the New York Times' observation that many right-wing governments -- nations and US states -- are doing a better job on vaccination efficiency than their lefty counterparts. One major hypothesized reason was the Left's obsession with "fairness," identity and bureaucratic process (all of which converged in this insane story). Israel is of course run by the Netanyahu government, the top performing government on the planet on this front. Also medaling is Boris Johnson's United Kingdom, so I'll leave you with the type of mea culpa apology about being wrong that feels rather rare in politics these days:
I owe @BorisJohnson an apology. Early in December I slammed him for “over-promising” to Covid vaccinate 15m at-risk Brits by today. Impossible, I raged - except he’s done just that, and I’m one of them. So fulsome & thankful congratulations, Boris....and of course that apology.
— Neil Wallis (@neilwallis1) February 15, 2021
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