As I repeatedly have said, VAERS is worthless, particularly when there are large claims and EHR databases of actual care that can be used for safety studies. Here is another one in children using those databases to ascertain potential vax-related safety issues, focussing on the 20 conditions which had been identified as possible adverse events. The only issue, which already was known, that met statistical significance for an adverse event, was heart inflammation. (JAMA Article)
Another vax safety nut lie bites the dust, not that this will stop Alex Berenson and his ilk, as a very large study shows no increased risk of miscarriage following receipt of a CV-19 vaccine booster. The study was done in the US, also using very large claims and electronic medical record databases, which is the absolute best way to do this research. (JAMA Study)
And here is another one, this time related to menstruation issues and based on a nationwide registry study from Sweden. For women who were pre-menopause, there was no association of the vax with menstrual bleeding leading to a hospitalization or a visit to a medical provider. There was a very weak and inconsistent association for post-menopausal women. (BMJ Study)
Does receiving a CV-19 vax have a beneficial effect on overall mortality, that is does it cut the overall risk of death? This study, which reviews multiple pieces of research, says there may have been a small reduction in such overall risk of death, with a larger reduction in regard to the adenovirus vaccines, which have now been withdrawn. I am dubious. (iScience Article)
This study examined patients who appeared to have a neurological event associated in time with a CV-19 vax. In almost all cases, the patients had underlying health issues that were the actual cause of the neurological event. For example, among those who had stroke, most had a longstanding history of high blood pressure. (NCP Article)
Is there a relationship between Type 1 diabetes and being infected with CV-19. I am dubious about that as well, and this study from Germany notes that there was an increase in diagnoses of Type 1 diabetes in children during the epidemic, and that this increase was higher among children who had a confirmed CV-19 infection. (JAMA Article)
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at 
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Overcast
PocketCasts
Radio Public
Stitcher
Anchor
RSS - Posts
As COVID studies wind down, what, in your opinion, are the seminal sturdies on: (1) Vaccine effectiveness in preventing COVID transmission/infection: (2) Mask effectiveness in preventing transmission/infection; (3) Effectiveness of lockdowns in slowing or halting COVID spread: and (4) Effectiveness of social distancing (and the related restriction of numbers of people in a given venue)?
So much stuff on vax effectiveness, our Mn data is pretty representative. Only real study of masks is the RCT from Denmark, but it is pretty clear from infection rates while the mandates were in effect that they didn’t work. Same with lockdowns, China being Exhibit A. Social distancing, same deal, no research that demonstrates any effectiveness at stopping community spread.