COVID-19 vaccines increase the overall rate of infection
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
confidence 15/100
Extensive scientific evidence demonstrates that COVID-19 vaccines reduce rather than increase the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease.
Evidence against · 10
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness against infection, symptomatic and severe COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
2022 · cited by 218
The systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrates that COVID-19 vaccines provide positive vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection, though protection wanes over time.
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More against · 9
Effectiveness of BNT162b2 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 in children aged 5–11 years in Italy: a retrospective analysis of January–April, 2022
2022 · cited by 100
A retrospective analysis in Italy shows that fully and partly vaccinated children aged 5–11 years experienced positive vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness in preventing confirmed infection in pregnant women.
2021 · cited by 48
A study of pregnant women finds that mRNA vaccines provide a high level of protection against confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Gam-COVID-Vac, EpiVacCorona, and CoviVac effectiveness against lung injury during Delta and Omicron variant surges in St. Petersburg, Russia: a test-negative case–control study
2022 · cited by 19
A test-negative case-control study shows that vaccines remained effective against lung injury during Delta and Omicron variant surges.
SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Effectiveness against Omicron Variant in Infection-Naive Population, Australia, 2022
2023 · cited by 15
An Australian study finds that 3-dose vaccination provided positive vaccine effectiveness against infection and severe outcomes from the Omicron variant.
Impact of vaccination on infection or death from COVID-19 in individuals with laboratory-confirmed cases: Case-control study
2023 · cited by 8
A case-control study indicates that COVID-19 vaccination served as a protective factor against symptomatic infection and mortality.
Estimates of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness against outpatient medically attended SARS-CoV-2 infection from April 2023 through August 2024 in Hong Kong: A test-negative design study.
2025 · cited by 0
A study in Hong Kong concludes that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines provided substantial protection against medically attended infection in both children and adults.
Covid-19, Vaccination Rates, Infection Rates, Death Rates and Behavioral Interventions: It’s Time to Cut the Bull!
2022 · cited by 0
An ecological analysis in Germany shows that less-vaccinated states had substantially higher infection and death rates than more-vaccinated states.
COVID-19, Vaccination Rates, Infection Rates, Death Rates, and Behavioral Interventions: It’s Time to Cut the Bull!
2022 · cited by 0
A duplicate publication of the German state analysis also shows higher infection rates in less-vaccinated regions.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rates and vaccination uptake in school pupils in England.
2022 · cited by 0
An administrative data study in England finds that unvaccinated pupils had a significantly higher rate of reporting a positive test compared to vaccinated pupils.