No relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and AIDS | Ap | berkshireeagle.com – Berkshire Eagle

CLAIM: COVID-19 vaccines are causing a form of AIDS that is not related to HIV, long established as the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

THE FACTS: There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines cause any kind of immune deficiency condition, let alone AIDS, nor is there evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines damage the immune system, experts say. In a video circulating widely on social media, Dr. Robert Malone, a frequent critic of COVID-19 vaccines who once researched mRNA vaccine technology, made the claim that the vaccines are damaging T cell responses and causing a form of AIDS.

People think, when they hear AIDS, they hear HIV. No, the vaccines arent causing you to be infected with the HIV virus, said Malone, during a taped interview with a website that focuses on COVID-19. They are causing a form of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, thats what AIDS stands for.

In the interview, published April 1, Malone claimed that lots of scientific data support his claim, but cited no evidence. The claims are unfounded. As The Associated Press previously reported, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines damage the immune system or cause AIDS, and there is also no evidence that the vaccines are causing a form of AIDS that doesnt stem from HIV, experts tell the AP. John Swartzberg, a clinical professor of infectious diseases and vaccinology at the University of California, Berkeley, said he knows of no data showing that mRNA vaccines cause immunodeficiency of any kind, including AIDS.

What is widely accepted is that vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause short-term immune activation, not deficiency, Richard E. Chaisson, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research, wrote in an email. Dr. Malone is distorting and misrepresenting data.

The AP has previously reported on false claims that COVID-19 vaccines damage T cells. Research shows the vaccines boost the immune response. HIV attacks the bodys immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is often spread through sexual contact, shared or contaminated needles and infected blood. If untreated, it can lead to AIDS. Both Chaisson and Swartzberg wrote that the term AIDS is strictly used to describe the condition caused by HIV. Chaisson described Malones use of the term as deliberately provocative and irresponsible. There are forms of inherited immunodeficiency, such as severe combined immunodeficiency, that result in life-threatening infections, Chaisson noted. But, he said, there is no evidence that these conditions are caused by COVID-19 vaccines. Malone did not respond to a request for comment.

Associated Press writer Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed this report.

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No relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and AIDS | Ap | berkshireeagle.com - Berkshire Eagle