Keystone State a Key to Senate Control

One of the U.S. Senate races that we are following closely is in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is running against Dr. Mehmet Oz. It could be the race that decides which party controls the Senate. 

Deputy Managing Editor Rob Farley, who is assigned to cover that race for us, writes: 

The Pennsylvania Senate race between Oz and Democrat John Fetterman to replace Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is not seeking reelection, has been the most expensive race this year, and has attracted by far the most outside spending, according to Open Secrets.

Outside groups spent over $98.5 million on the Pennsylvania race from the May 17 primary through Oct. 14, Open Secrets reported.  

This week, Rob wrote about three ads from two of those outside groups -- FF PAC and Senate Majority PAC, both Democratic-aligned super PACs. In his latest story, Rob writes that the groups' TV ads distort Oz’s positions on taxes, Social Security and Medicare, and abortion.

Read the full story, "Ads Distort Oz’s Position on Abortion, Taxes and Social Security." For all of our stories on the Pennsylvania Senate race click here. All of our election stories can be found here. 

Subject line: Vaccine transmission 

Reader: You are liars. Our so-called President, Vice President. All the news media and almost every politician said that you won’t transmit or get Covid. Get the shot so you won’t kill grandma! Deny and lie is all you can do!

FactCheck.org Science Editor Jessica McDonald: Nobody is lying. As we’ve written, the COVID-19 vaccines were initially quite good at preventing coronavirus infection, which in turn meant they were very good at preventing transmission (since you can’t spread a virus you don’t have!). Over time and against new variants, however, the vaccines have become less able to prevent infection and reduce transmission. 

This doesn’t mean they don’t work. The primary goal has always been to prevent severe disease and death -- and the vaccines still do this, particularly after a booster. It does mean that people can’t just rely on vaccination if you don’t want to get COVID-19 or give it to others. This has always been the case, since no vaccine protects 100% of people, but it’s certainly more true now than it was before. 

Getting vaccinated is still a good idea to help keep grandma safe. That’s because for a short period, vaccination still helps reduce infection and transmission to some extent. It’s just not a silver bullet, and it’s not the only precaution that someone should take, especially if they want to be around someone who is high-risk for severe COVID-19.

Wrapping Up

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

• "It’s Not News, Nor ‘Scandalous,’ That Pfizer Trial Didn’t Test Transmission": The COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials were designed to study the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in preventing symptomatic disease, not transmission. But online publications now misleadingly present the fact that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was not tested for transmission as a “shocking admission” and proof that the company and the government lied. 
• "Johnson Ad Omits Barnes' Condemnation of Attack on Police": In the Wisconsin Senate race, an ad from Republican Sen. Ron Johnson selectively pulls comments made by his opponent, Democrat Mandela Barnes, from an interview days after a deadly attack on police in Dallas. The ad claims Barnes "rationalized violence" against police, but it ignores that Barnes said the killings were "not justified in any way" and that he "denounced" the attack.
• "Social Media Claims Misrepresent Election Software CEO’s Arrest": The arrest of a CEO whose company maintained poll worker data for Los Angeles County has sparked a wave of false voter fraud claims. County District Attorney George Gascón has said that the “alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results.”

• "El análisis de la vacunación contra el COVID-19 de Florida es defectuoso, dicen los expertos": El estado de Florida anunció recientemente que ha dejado de recomendar que los varones jóvenes reciban vacunas de ARNm contra el COVID-19, sobre la base de un análisis no publicado que supuestamente encontró un mayor riesgo de muerte relacionada con el corazón después de la vacunación. Pero los expertos que se especializan en el singular método utilizado en el análisis dicen que este no se realizó adecuadamente. E incluso si se hubiese realizado correctamente, los hallazgos no significarían que las personas no deban vacunarse. 
• "No es noticia ni ‘escandaloso’ que el ensayo de Pfizer no haya probado transmisión": Los ensayos clínicos de la vacuna contra el COVID-19 fueron diseñados para estudiar la seguridad y la eficacia de la vacuna para prevenir la enfermedad con síntomas, no la transmisión. Pero ahora algunas publicaciones digitales presentan engañosamente el hecho de que la vacuna de Pfizer/BioNTech no se probó contra la transmisión como una “impactante admisión” y prueba de que la compañía y el gobierno mintieron.