The Claim:
In an interview with Chris Cuomo, former CDC head Dr. Redfield suggests that COVID vaccines have significant side effects and that people under 50 do not need them.
The Facts:
“These are important vaccines, We saved a lot of lives,” Dr. Redfield says in the interview. He then goes on to say that they aren’t that critical for those under 50, presumably because they aren’t in danger of acute death.
While it’s true the majority of deaths from COVID was in those over 50, bad outcomes beyond death occur. According to the CDC, Long COVID was more likely in those 35-49 (8.9%) versus those 50-64 (7.6%) and those 65 and older (4.1%).
According to a study looking at the benefits of the vaccination campaigns, in the time between April 2021 and March 2022, COVID the vaccination campaign resulted in 2,576,133 fewer mild COVID-19 cases, 243,979 fewer nonfatal COVID-19 hospitalizations, and 51,675 lives saved from COVID-19 with net benefits of approximately $732 billion.
While side effects do happen, the risks of COVID vaccines are far fewer than the risks of COVID infection, with severe side effects from the COVID vaccines being extremely rare.