The Lancet_ Stigmatizing the 'Unvaccinated' Is Not Justified

The Lancet: Stigmatizing the “Unvaccinated” Is Not Justified

Since the beginning of the pandemic and arguably before, The Lancet has repeatedly destroyed its credibility. Once considered the paragon of medical journals across the globe, today it has been shown as more of a mouthpiece for the World Health Organization, National Institute of Health, World Economic Forum, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Chinese Communist Party. Instead of following the science, the journal has been accused of following the agenda of the highest bidder.

In a rare — albeit brief — moment of scientific clarity, the journal published a short article that claims there is no reason to bully people into getting vaccinated. After promoting false concepts like constant use of multiple layers of face masks, incessant lockdowns, universal vaccinations, and the theory that Covid-19 originated in bat soup, they finally seem to have gotten one right. We are publishing the entire article because it’s short and as a safety measure in case the journal loses its senses again and starts censoring more articles that go against the agenda they’ve sworn to protect.

According to author Günter Kampf:

In the USA and Germany, high-level officials have used the term pandemic of the unvaccinated, suggesting that people who have been vaccinated are not relevant in the epidemiology of COVID-19. Officials’ use of this phrase might have encouraged one scientist to claim that “the unvaccinated threaten the vaccinated for COVID-19”.<sup)1 But this view is far too simple.

There is increasing evidence that vaccinated individuals continue to have a relevant role in transmission. In Massachusetts, USA, a total of 469 new COVID-19 cases were detected during various events in July, 2021, and 346 (74%) of these cases were in people who were fully or partly vaccinated, 274 (79%) of whom were symptomatic. Cycle threshold values were similarly low between people who were fully vaccinated (median 22·8) and people who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median 21·5), indicating a high viral load even among people who were fully vaccinated.2

In the USA, a total of 10 262 COVID-19 cases were reported in vaccinated people by April 30, 2021, of whom 2725 (26·6%) were asymptomatic, 995 (9·7%) were hospitalised, and 160 (1·6%) died.3 In Germany, 55·4% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in patients aged 60 years or older were in fully vaccinated individuals,4 and this proportion is increasing each week. In Münster, Germany, new cases of COVID-19 occurred in at least 85 (22%) of 380 people who were fully vaccinated or who had recovered from COVID-19 and who attended a nightclub.5

People who are vaccinated have a lower risk of severe disease but are still a relevant part of the pandemic. It is therefore wrong and dangerous to speak of a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Historically, both the USA and Germany have engendered negative experiences by stigmatising parts of the population for their skin colour or religion. I call on high-level officials and scientists to stop the inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens, and to put extra effort into bringing society together.

It’s refreshing to know there are still a handful of doctors and scientists who have not embraced the false narrative of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” If we follow the science, any attempts to force people to get injected dissolve faster than a wet Wicked Witch of the West.

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