The Claim:
A journalist who believes he is vaccine-injured pressed Dr. Deborah Birx on the topic of government transparency and vaccine injuries. This interview is taken out of context and used by anti-vaxxers as part of their conspiracy theory about the dangers of vaccination.
The Facts:
What Dr. Birx actually said was that vaccines are incredibly effective (she’s right! The latest vaccine reduced the chance of getting COVID by 54%). She did say that while some people, possibly thousands, might have had a vaccine reaction, millions had Long-COVID.
An estimated 17 million people in the US currently have Long-COVID, and up to 43 million say they’ve had Long-COVID at one time. The latest studies, however, show that the COVID vaccine reduces the risk of Long-COVID after infection by up to 69%, which is great news for those who have been vaccinated.
There could be a very rare risk of Long-COVID-like symptoms after vaccination, though, but the number of people protected from COVID and Long-COVID enormously outweighs the number of people who may have had adverse events after the vaccine. It’s not even close.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved since this was originally posted. Browse the latest information posted in Just the Facts Topics.
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