The Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and best-known medical journals, has published an article asserting that that there is no reason to bully people into getting vaccinated. It unequivocally asserts that: “Stigmatizing the ‘Unvaccinated’ is not justified”.
The piece was authored by Günter Kampf, an associated professor for hygiene and environmental medicine at the University of Greifswald in Germany. Kampf states that a belief has been propagated by high-level officials that there is a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ which wrongly implies that the vaccinated are not relevant to the spread of COVID.
“In the USA and Germany, high-level officials have used the term pandemic of the unvaccinated, suggesting that people who have been vaccinated are not relevant in the epidemiology of COVID-19. Officials’ use of this phrase might have encouraged one scientist to claim that “the unvaccinated threaten the vaccinated for COVID-19”. But this view is far too simple,” he states.
Prof Kampf said that there is growing proof that vaccinated people play a relevant role in the spread of the virus: “There is increasing evidence that vaccinated individuals continue to have a relevant role in transmission.”
Citing infection rates among some vaccinated people in the US state of Massachusetts, he writes: “In Massachusetts, USA, a total of 469 new COVID-19 cases were detected during various events in July, 2021, and 346 (74%) of these cases were in people who were fully or partly vaccinated, 274 (79%) of whom were symptomatic.”
In terms of the concentration of viral genetic material following a patient sample in a RT-PCR test, amounts were similar among the unvaccinated, the vaccinated, and the not fully vaccinated. Kampf states: “Cycle threshold values were similarly low between people who were fully vaccinated (median 22·8) and people who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median 21·5), indicating a high viral load even among people who were fully vaccinated.”
Referencing COVID infections and deaths amongst the vaccinated, the author looks at data from the USA and Germany:
“In the USA, a total of 10 262 COVID-19 cases were reported in vaccinated people by April 30, 2021, of whom 2725 (26·6%) were asymptomatic, 995 (9·7%) were hospitalised, and 160 (1·6%) died. In Germany, 55·4% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in patients aged 60 years or older were in fully vaccinated individuals, and this proportion is increasing each week.
“In Münster, Germany, new cases of COVID-19 occurred in at least 85 (22%) of 380 people who were fully vaccinated or who had recovered from COVID-19 and who attended a nightclub.”
He writes that, although people who are vaccinated “have a lower risk of severe disease,” they are by no means exempt from the COVID crisis, and it is therefore wrong to term it a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.
“People who are vaccinated have a lower risk of severe disease but are still a relevant part of the pandemic. It is therefore wrong and dangerous to speak of a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Kampf also calls on scientists and officials to put an end to the “inappropriate stigmatisation” of those who are unvaccinated, and argues that nothing good can come from stigmatising certain groups of people in the population, as history proves.
He states: “Historically, both the USA and Germany have engendered negative experiences by stigmatising parts of the population for their skin colour or religion. I call on high-level officials and scientists to stop the inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens, and to put extra effort into bringing society together.”
Sharing the article to his Twitter page, Kampf reiterated his comments. He wrote: I call on high-level officials and scientists to stop the inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens, and to put extra effort into bringing society together.”
https://twitter.com/dr_kampf/status/1461577497733173250?s=20
Although some expressed disbelief that the article had been published in The Lancet, and one user argued that stigmatisation was not taking place – that encouragement to take the vaccines was actually about “solidarity” and “the minority not harming the majority” – many people thanked Kampf for his efforts to address “stigmatisation and exclusion” of those who have chosen not to take the vaccine for ethical or health reasons.
https://twitter.com/seyahat_engelli/status/1462107602263982085?s=20
People have legitimate reasons not to get vaccinated. They don't deserve stigma. We need to trust people to make wise decisions for themselves.
Take a clear stance against "stupid and/or dangerous denial of facts" and recognize natural immunity's robustness.
— Eric McPherson (@EricMcPh) November 21, 2021
As a happily vaccinated person that lives in Austria today: Thank you, great correspondence.
— Ferdinand Svehla (@fsvehla) November 19, 2021
Thank you for your efforts of addressing the problem of exclusion and stigmatization!
— Martin Haspelmath (@haspelmath) November 19, 2021
It comes as allegations mount that those who are unvaccinated are being painted in an unfair light. Last month, Gript’s John McGuirk said that, by his own observations, the unvaccinated are being scapegoated as a cover for government COVID failures, writing that there is “a co-ordinated and comprehensive effort, in both the media, and politics, to lay the blame for Ireland’s apparently renewed Covid woes at the feet of the unvaccinated.”
Also last month, Catherine Connolly TD hit out at the government, accusing them of “demonising” unvaccinated people, as reported by Gript. And just last week, Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne seemed to clearly validate Connolly’s point, arguing in the Seanad that the vaccinated should be “rewarded” with privileges like being able to get a pint, while the unjabbed – who he dubbed “selfish” and irresponsible – should be denied such luxuries.
Adding fuel to the fire, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar took to the American airwaves, telling broadcaster CNN that Ireland’s unvaccinated population are “causing a lot of the trouble” despite the fact that they only equate for roughly 5 per cent of the population.
5% of the nation's unvaccinated population "are causing the trouble" @LeoVaradkar tells @BeckyCNN — but Christmas might not be canceled yet. He hopes no new restrictions will be put in place before then and boosters will aid waning immunity. #Ireland #covid #restrictions #pubs pic.twitter.com/z9jyVIdByL
— Connect the World (@CNNConnect) November 18, 2021