ATLANTA — Omicron is now the dominant COVID-19 strain in Georgia and causing cases to rise.
We’ve seen a spike in people searching for information about this new variant. At the same time, claims are circulating online questioning whether vaccines are somehow tied to variants. 11Alive's Dawn White is verifying what's true and what's not.
THE QUESTION
Can COVID-19 vaccines cause the virus to mutate and form new variants, such as omicron?
THE SOURCES
- Dr. Richard Rothenberg, regents professor at Georgia State University Public Health
- Dr. Lynn Paxton, the district health director in Fulton County
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- The World Health Organization
THE ANSWER
No, vaccines do not cause new COVID-19 variants.
WHAT WE KNOW
The WHO labeled Omicron a variant of concern in November after it was first detected in South Africa due to how quickly it spread. At the time, South Africa’s vaccination rate was under 30%.
Earlier this year, Delta was labeled a variant of concern after it was detected in India in April and May. Less than 10% of India’s population was vaccinated at the time.
However, Dr. Rothenberg with GSU points out COVID-19 vaccines do not contain the live virus.
“The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain infectious particles," Rothenberg said. "They are not capable of causing disease, like COVID itself. They do produce some side effects, which are similar to what COVID does for a very short period of time, but they do not cause the disease itself."
Meanwhile, Dr. Lynn Paxton said "the vaccines do not cause variants. They actually help prevent them by preventing people from getting infected in the first place."
THE QUESTION
Do COVID-19 vaccines lower your immune response?
THE SOURCES
- Dr. Richard Rothenberg, regents professor at Georgia State University Public Health
- Dr. Lynn Paxton, the district health director in Fulton County
THE ANSWER
No, COVID-19 vaccines do not lower your immune system.
WHAT WE KNOW
Dr. Paxton previously worked as an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC and said the whole purpose of the vaccine is to strengthen your immune response.
“The COVID vaccines, in fact, the way that they work is they give a small but safe stimulus to your immune system, thereby allowing your immune system to be able to successfully attack and kill the virus when or if you are actually exposed to it," she explained.
Dr. Rothenberg said data shows the vaccines may be slightly less effective against the omicron variant, making it seem like the vaccines lower immunity.
“The fact is that all of the immunology in this stuff is rocket science. It is very difficult. There's a great deal of technical information that's required, and trying to distill it down into something which people not familiar with the technical side of things can understand can be difficult," Rothenberg said.
However, scientists say no vaccine is 100% protective, so breakthrough cases can be expected.
“What we know and what we've been finding out over the last several months is that people who are vaccinated are much less likely to become ill," Paxton said. "It's not the vaccinated people who are filling up our ICUs right now and who are dying. It is primarily the unvaccinated people who are really suffering the consequences of this."
Both Paxton and Rothenberg believe the misinformation spreading on social media is dangerous for the country.
“Nobody's safe until everybody is safe is the idea behind this," Rothenberg said. "Unless people can do that, and can work together this way, we're going to have a tremendous amount of trouble in the near and intermediate, and maybe even in the far future."
“This is not something that is just a joke, or something that we should be ignoring because, 'Oh, they don't know better,' and all," Paxton said. "If you're spreading misinformation, you might be killing someone."