Posted on 05/14/2020 6:45:04 AM PDT by bitt
Phenomenon known as virus interference flagged in DOD study just before COVID-19 burst.
Just a few short weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic burst into public view, a medical researcher published a study on military members who got the flu shot. At the time, it barely created a ripple but its findings are now likely to have a larger impact on the future policy debate over infectious respiratory viruses.
The study published by Dr. Gregory Wolff in Science magazine was entitled, “Influenza vaccination and respiratory virus interference among Department of Defense personnel during the 2017-2018 influenza season" and it addressed a suspected phenomenon known as "virus interference."
The question Wolff, who is with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch Air Force Satellite at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, sought to answer was does the influenza vaccine, i.e. the flu shot, increase the potential for infections from other respiratory viruses. He had the perfect test population: military members who were mostly required to get the annual vaccine.
His findings were mixed: Overall the "receipt of influenza vaccination was not associated with virus interference” among the DOD personnel, he wrote. But he added: “Examining virus interference by specific respiratory viruses showed mixed results.”
And here's the kicker. “Vaccine derived virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus and human metapneumovirus. However, significant protection with vaccination was associated not only with most influenza viruses, but also parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza virus co-infections"
In other words, there was some evidence a flu shot recipient might be more vulnerable to a coronavirus although well protected against many other forms of infection.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
Yes, it’s substantially correct. This type of phrasing is used because of how difficult something is to prove as a fundamental cause - without any doubt - just by seeing them together lots of times.
“Vaccine...interference was significantly associated with...”
This means one cannot PROVE that it was CAUSED BY it, just that the two were observed together more than can be explained by chance...meaning that the vaccine was often observed along with unusually higher than usual levels of coronavirus and of human metapneumovirus.
This phrasing means an observation is being made that they tend to occur together, rather than a smoking gun of proof that one is definitely caused by the other.
This is probably a terrible example because the converse is true, but I hope it helps a little: smoke is more often observed along with fire than can be expected by sheer coincidence, although smoke itself does not CAUSE fire. Cars and drivers usually are observed together, although cars do not cause drivers to come into existence.
Interesting: thank you!
Very true.
Wouldn’t one also need to know the count of troops who were vaccinated? I’m doubting it’s 100%?
Just FYI, Black Agnes is making a well known statistical argument, not being rude to you.
Yep - some of them drugs can do wonders for a lot of folks but end up being the death of others. Praying you’re in the first group...we take D and Zinc and I added NAC (because a nurse who deals with Covid patients recommended it) and 8 ounces of tonic (quinine) water to our daily regimens.
We aren’t being stupid but we are also not being obsessed and so far, neither of us has reason to believe we have had the virus.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.