So important in this pandemic to NOT let RARE events make the headlines & grab our attention

@NPR - this should NOT be a headline unless you’re going to have daily headlines that say “Millions NOT reinfected today with COVID19”

People are scare enough https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/12/922980490/scientists-confirm-nevada-man-was-infected-twice-with-coronavirus?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

Re-exposures are essential to build our immune system. This is not in question. They are like training.

But like anything, when enough people get a re-exposure, there are going to be rare cases here and there that go awry and someone gets more sick the second time.

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But this is rare and should NOT be interpreted as people will not build protective immunity and that vaccines will not work.

The take away from this piece should be “In a rare event, a person in the US gets a severe second infection with SARS-CoV-2”

One other point

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Scientists publish information on rare events in academic journals bc we learn a lot from these. But media has a different role than academic journals and should be responsible about reporting on important issues to the every day person. The two are not the same.

Also, I dont think it’s wrong at all for the media to report on rare and interesting events - they are interesting to scientists and physicians and likewise, interesting to others too - BUT - the context should be front and center when it is something this crucial.

I’ve seen a lot of ppl respond and say “people aren’t scared enough”

There is a difference between being informed and being scared about rare events happening. Do we want an extremely rare adverse event from a vaccine to cause everyone to be scared of being vaccinated?