Get the Facts on RSV Among Children 

The purveyors of anti-vaccine disinformation blame the COVID-19 vaccines for every possible health ailment -- regardless of the facts. 

The latest nonsensical claim circulating online suggests that the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine is to blame for the unusually high number of respiratory syncytial virus infections among children. 

But Staff Writer Catalina Jaramillo writes that the spike is most likely caused by an immunity gap created by the lack of exposure to RSV over the past couple of years.

“There was no typical winter surge in hospitalisations related to RSV among children in 2020,” a group of experts in infectious diseases from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and researchers from the ecology and evolutionary biology department at Princeton University wrote in a commentary published in the Lancet in July. 

“As NPI measures were further relaxed, interseasonal RSV outbreaks began the following spring, with waves of disease affecting older than the typical median age for childhood RSV-associated respiratory infections,” they continued, referring to nonpharmaceutical interventions, or actions that people can take to prevent the spread of a virus, such as social distancing. 

Consider, too, that COVID-19 vaccination remains low in the youngest children.

Less than 8% of children under 5 years old have received at least one dose, a coverage that “does not account for the surge in RSV cases seen nationally,” Kate Grusich, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Catalina in an email.   

“In addition, children under six months of age, who have always been at the highest risk of RSV-associated severe disease and hospitalization, continue to have the highest rates of RSV hospitalization among all age groups (RSV-NET Interactive Dashboard | CDC) – and this group is not yet eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” Grusich wrote.

Simply put, “[t]here is no evidence indicating COVID-19 vaccination can cause infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),” Grusich explained. 

Each year, 58,000 to 80,000 children under 5 are hospitalized due to RSV infection, according to the CDC. This year, it is expected to be worse. “This is the worst RSV year we’ve ever seen in our hospital," Dr. Paul A. Offit, a vaccine expert and pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told Catalina. 

For more about the RSV outbreak, read Catalina's story, "RSV Surge in Children Likely Caused by ‘Immunity Gap,’ Not COVID-19 Vaccine."

Reader: Sooo many stories that have been collaborated of voter fraud yet you still keep saying no voter fraud!!! Even had pictures telling voters the machines were down!!! So sad how much has George the nazi soras spent getting you all to keep backing his crap!!!!!

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: First of all, we have never said there is NO voter fraud. There are individuals who have committed voter fraud over the years, and we have written about some of them. The conservative Heritage Foundation has a voter fraud database that we often cite – as I did in a story about a Republican TV ad that falsely claimed “dead people always vote Democrat.”

What we have said is that voter fraud is rare. We’ve researched numerous claims of voter fraud in the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2022 elections, and found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. We are not alone in reviewing the facts and coming to this conclusion. As we wrote, former Attorney General William Barr and others in the Justice Department under former President Trump have come to the same conclusion. In fact, Barr told the January 6th Committee: “My opinion then and my opinion now is that the [2020] election was not stolen by fraud. And I haven’t seen anything since the election that changes my mind on that, including the ‘2000 Mules’ movie.”

Secondly, there are problems with voting machines in some areas in just about every election. That isn’t proof of fraud, and in each case the election officials will investigate what happened. I can assure you we will report any proof of systemic, widespread fraud. 

Finally, we have never received any funding from George Soros, who as we wrote survived Nazi occupation in Hungary. He and his family were victims of the Nazis. Our funding sources are disclosed on our website. 

Wrapping Up

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

• "Post Omits Paxlovid’s Ability to Protect Against Severe COVID-19, Death": Paxlovid, Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill, has been shown to prevent severe COVID-19 and death. An online post alleging the drug is a “fraud” and “should be taken off the market” neglects to mention this important information, and falsely says ivermectin is superior. 
• "Bogus Theory Misinterprets FTX Support for Ukraine": The bankruptcy of FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has sparked an unfounded claim that its former CEO had conspired with Ukraine and Democratic politicians to launder U.S. aid money. FTX helped make crypto donations available to Ukraine; it wasn’t taking any assets from Ukraine. 
• "FDA Did Not Change Position on Ivermectin Use, Contrary to Online Claims": In response to a civil suit, lawyers for the Food and Drug Administration described the agency’s warnings about the unapproved use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 as “recommendations.” Although that description doesn’t reveal new information, some conservative outlets have falsely claimed it’s an “outrageous” revelation and a change in the FDA’s position.
• "Posts Misrepresent How Florida Arrived at Quick Election Results": Florida law allows election officials to start counting early in-person and mail-in ballots before Election Day. But social media posts falsely claim Florida counted all of its more than 7 million votes in five hours on Election Day and states that took longer committed “voter fraud.” Most states don’t allow vote counting to begin until Election Day or after polls close. 
• "Inaccurate TV Graphic Sparks Erroneous Claims of Election Fraud in Pennsylvania": Social media posts falsely suggest there was fraud in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race, citing a TV graphic that showed Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano with nearly 500,000 more votes than Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, but Mastriano trailing 41.6% to 56.6%. The graphic showed inaccurate numbers that were quickly corrected on air.

• "Aumento de virus respiratorio sincitial en niños probablemente causado por ‘brecha inmunitaria’, no por la vacuna contra el COVID-19": Los hospitales en Estados Unidos han observado un fuerte aumento de infecciones por el virus respiratorio sincitial en niños. Los expertos dicen que lo más probable es que el aumento se deba a una brecha inmunitaria creada por la falta de exposición al virus en el último par de años. No hay pruebas de que las vacunas pediátricas contra el COVID-19 sean la causa, como falsamente afirman publicaciones virales.