The Facts
A new study published Thursday from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., suggested that people who sustain multiple COVID infections increase their risk of hospitalization, serious health complications, and death — regardless of vaccination status.
The research — which analyzed almost 5.8M health records — showed that those with multiple COVID infections were at risk of several health issues up to six months following their most recent illness, with this risk increasing with each successive infection.
The Spin
Narrative A
It's time to fast-track COVID Vaccine 2.0 already, but both Democrats and Republicans are standing in the way. With new variants, debilitating long COVID, and societal fatigue with the pandemic, a decrease in funding and lack of interest has made the virus run laps around our response to it. We need to re-invigorate developing a superior next-generation COVID vaccine with the same zeal and support as the Trump-era Operation Warp Speed.
Narrative B
If the goal is to prevent COVID infections — even mild ones — we’re going to drive ourselves crazy. It's not uncommon for some viruses to make people sick after vaccination. Expecting a measles-like lifelong immune response from a COVID vaccine isn't realistic. It's time to revisit flawed terminology like "breakthrough infection" and "long COVID" to refine our conversations. The purpose of COVID vaccines is to prevent severe illness and death — the current suite does a terrific job of that.