Understanding Omicron

While most of us were preparing for Thanksgiving, South Africa told the World Health Organization on Nov. 24 that amid a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, it had identified a new variant — later named omicron — with a high number of mutations. 

Within days, there were breaking news reports about each new case of omicron in the U.S., as if it were January 2020 again. 

As Yogi Berra reportedly once said, “It’s deja vu all over again.” Except it’s not.

The U.S. and the rest of the world are in a far better place now than we were in 2020. Today, we can combat the new variant with vaccines, booster shots and treatments, and help slow it with tests and social distancing measures.  

But it's easy to fear the unknown, and much about omicron is still unknown.

With all that in mind, Science Editor Jessica McDonald and Managing Editor Lori Robertson have written a guide for you on the new variant. They go through what we know so far about omicron and answer – to the extent they can - questions such as: Why are experts concerned about the omicron variant? How contagious is it? Do treatments still work against infections with the omicron variant? 

Read the full story, "Q&A on the Omicron Variant."

Reader: Did a Pfizer whistleblower and several scientists say that the Covid vaccine changes your DNA and destroys your immune system? It killed mice in 2 weeks, monkeys in 2 months and will kill us in 2 years, he said.  This is what an unvaccinated person told me their reason for not getting the vaccine.

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: These are unfounded rumors that we and others have debunked. I'll address them one at a time.  

First, the mRNA from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines doesn’t enter the nucleus — the part of the cell that houses DNA — so the mRNA "cannot change or influence our genes," as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has explained. 

We wrote about that in our articles "A Guide to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine" and "A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine." 

We also addressed false claims that the vaccines killed mice and monkeys in "Instagram Posts Spread Texas Lawmaker’s False Claims on Vaccine Testing." 

In that story, we wrote:

Testing on both animals and humans was conducted before the COVID-19 vaccines were granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. And it is not the case that animal tests on the vaccines “stopped” or that the “animals were dying.”

In the development of Moderna’s vaccine, a preclinical study published in July showed vaccinated monkeys that were challenged with the SARS-CoV-2 virus rapidly cleared the pathogen from their bodies, as we’ve explained. And a study published the following month found that in mice, the vaccine successfully prevented infection in the lung and nose.

Similarly, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine underwent preclinical testing in both mice and monkeys, as is noted in an FDA memo laying out the information considered in authorizing the vaccine for emergency use.

And the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was also tested in several nonclinical studies involving animals, including hamsters and monkeys. 

And, as we also wrote, there is no evidence to support the claim that the mRNA vaccines "will kill us in 2 years," as the unvaccinated person told you. We covered that claim in "Irish Professor Makes Unfounded Claims About Long-Term Effects of mRNA Vaccines." That claim was made by Dolores Cahill, a professor who was chair of the right-wing Irish Freedom Party. 

As we wrote: 

It’s unclear what exactly is behind Cahill’s wild and baseless claim that the vaccines will cause all recipients to die within a matter of years. Our inquiries to Cahill went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Grant McFadden, director of the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy at Arizona State University, told us in an email that “the safety record for the mRNA vaccines is excellent.”

McFadden said that while “we do not yet have long-term data in humans,” there “are no scientific reasons to predict complications in these new vaccines in the coming years.” He added that “common health practices mandate that this will be monitored carefully for years to come.” 

We cover these and many more false and misleading claims on our "COVID-19 Misconceptions" page.  

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Viral Post Misrepresents Facts in Rittenhouse Trial": Kyle Rittenhouse said that he went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to defend a car dealership during protests against police brutality in August 2020. He was not there to defend his grandparents’ gas station, as a viral social media post falsely claims. He was not related to the family that owns the car dealership.
• "Media Allowed to Attend Ghislaine Maxwell’s Trial, Contrary to Social Media Posts": The federal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is charged with assisting accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, opened on Nov. 29 with extensive media coverage. But social media posts falsely claim the judge issued a “gag order” and the media is “barred from courtroom.” The judge’s order allows “substantial public and press access at the Courthouse.”
• "Social Media Posts Misrepresent Old Biden Tweet on Travel Ban": President Joe Biden restricted travel from eight African nations on Nov. 26 to slow the spread of the omicron variant. Conservative commentators have misleadingly cited a Biden tweet from last year to claim he was critical of “the same travel ban” implemented by then-President Donald Trump. But that tweet was about a Trump immigration order directed at predominantly Muslim countries. 
• "U.S. Oil Reserve Created for Supply Disruptions, Not Strictly Military Use": The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was set up as an emergency source of oil to keep supplies flowing in the event of unexpected disruptions. It’s not just designed “for when we get attacked and need the fuel to keep our Air Force in the air,” as social media posts falsely claim.

• "Pfizer/BioNTech ajusta formulación de la vacuna contra el COVID-19 para mejorar su estabilidad": Al lanzar su vacuna pediátrica contra el COVID-19, Pfizer cambió la solución amortiguadora utilizada en su formulación para aumentar la estabilidad del producto, lo que le permite durar en el refrigerador por más tiempo. La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de Estados Unidos (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés) aprobó el cambio que también se está aplicando a algunas dosis para adolescentes y adultos. Sin embargo, varias publicaciones en las redes sociales sugieren engañosamente que el cambio de ingredientes es peligroso o que se añadió para prevenir ataques al corazón en niños.
• "Los comentarios falsos de Aaron Rodgers sobre el COVID-19": Aaron Rodgers, el mariscal de campo y estrella de los Green Bay Packers, acaparó titulares después de contraer COVID-19 y justificar su decisión de no vacunarse con una seguidilla de afirmaciones falsas y engañosas que ya han sido rebatidas reiteradamente por verificadores de información.
• "Los beneficios de la vacuna pediátrica contra el COVID-19 superan los riesgos, contrariamente a lo que dicen publicaciones que usan VAERS incorrectamente": El Sistema de Notificación de Reacciones Adversas a las Vacunas (VAERS, por sus siglas en inglés) puede detectar posibles problemas de seguridad con las vacunas. Cualquier persona puede enviar un informe no verificado, aunque no se sepa si una vacuna causó el problema. Sin embargo, muchos mensajes virales continúan usando incorrectamente datos del VAERS y cálculos erróneos para afirmar que la vacuna para niños contra el COVID-19 de Pfizer no es segura y que causará muchas más muertes de las que evitará.