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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Posts Exaggerate Lab Findings About COVID-19’s Impact on Immune System

Posts Exaggerate Lab Findings About COVID-19’s Impact on Immune System

Outside of long COVID or very severe cases, most research suggests COVID-19 doesn’t cause lasting damage to the immune system. A few studies have found evidence of some possible damage, but nothing as severe as an immunodeficiency. People on social media, however, are misinterpreting a recent study to incorrectly claim COVID-19 is HIV-like.

Posts Make False Comparisons Between COVID-19 Immunity From Infections and Vaccines

Posts Make False Comparisons Between COVID-19 Immunity From Infections and Vaccines

Vaccination and infection both provide protective immunity to COVID-19, particularly against severe disease. But gaining immunity through infection is far riskier than vaccination. Posts citing a new Lancet study omit that important context and also misleadingly claim the study shows immunity after infection is superior to vaccination immunity.

Studies Show Boosted Immunity Against Omicron with Booster Doses

Studies Show Boosted Immunity Against Omicron with Booster Doses

Neither primary vaccination nor natural immunity is generally stopping infections with the omicron variant, but research shows booster doses substantially increase protection. Yet, Republican Sen. Rand Paul claimed that a case of COVID-19 provides “an immunity better than the vaccine.”

Vaccines Benefit Those Who Have Had COVID-19, Contrary to Viral Posts

Vaccines Benefit Those Who Have Had COVID-19, Contrary to Viral Posts

There is no evidence that vaccines could cause harm to people who already have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 or have become ill with the disease COVID-19. On the contrary, recent studies show the vaccine gives an important immunity boost to those previously infected and suggest that one dose might be enough. 

What Do the New Coronavirus Variants Mean for the Pandemic?

What Do the New Coronavirus Variants Mean for the Pandemic?

Q: What are the risks of the newly identified coronavirus variants?
A: It’s not yet known whether mutant versions cause more severe disease, but some are likely more contagious. Scientists expect vaccines will work but are monitoring the situation.

Paul Misleads on Natural Infection and COVID-19 Vaccines

Paul Misleads on Natural Infection and COVID-19 Vaccines

In a tweet, Sen. Rand Paul misleadingly suggested that immunity from “[n]aturally acquired” COVID-19 was better than that from a vaccine. But it’s not known how immunity from the two sources compares — and the entire point of a vaccine is to offer immunity without the risk of getting sick.

FactChecking Trump’s Immunity Claims

FactChecking Trump’s Immunity Claims

President Trump said that once he came down with COVID-19, people for partisan reasons shifted from saying immunity was lifelong to saying it lasted only a few months. Experts haven’t changed their estimates.