Given the recent outbreak of the Omicron variant and much still unknown about it, the facts surrounding the Delta variant provide a cautionary tale of how misinformation about SARS-CoV-2 variants provides cover for people who have caused widespread harm and countless deaths.

Government officials and media outlets have often blamed the Delta variant — and are preemptively blaming the Omicron variant — for:

• surging Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths amid rising vaccination rates and booster shots (President Biden & The New York Times).
• Covid-19 outbreaks in schools (the CDC & WebMD).
• inflation (The Washington Post & The New York Times).
• supply chain disruptions (NPR & The Washington Post).
• sagging economic growth (Reuters & Yahoo Finance).
• “a lot of the problems with the economy” (MSNBC).

Naturally Acquired Immunity

While the Delta variant is much more transmissible than earlier SARS-CoV-2 variants, its mutations don’t materially compromise the naturally acquired immunity that develops when people catch and recover from Covid-19. Though mass media has led people to believe just the opposite, at least 20 studies conducted throughout the pandemic have found evidence that such immunity is potent and lasting.

Waning Efficacy of Covid-19 Vaccines

In contrast, the current crop of Covid-19 vaccines initially provide strong immunity against Delta and earlier variants, but this appears to start waning a few months after vaccination and drops dramatically by six months. The exact reasons for this are not yet proven, but three major possibilities rooted in empirical facts include the following:

1. The vaccines are injected into muscles, which produces little-to-no immunity in the upper respiratory tract where the SARS-CoV-2 virus first infects people.
2. The vaccines target only one area of the virus called the “Spike protein,” while naturally acquired immunity targets the entire virus.
3. The vaccines trigger an immune reaction to only a few Spike variants, while natural naturally acquired immunity attacks a diverse array of Spike variants.

The Omicron Variant

Data and studies on the Omicron variant are just beginning to pour in, but genetic and immunological research suggests Omicron will be more of the same but with greater transmissibility, a lower death rate, and faster vaccine waning. In other words, it seems ideally suited to mitigation via naturally acquired immunity.

However, the higher transmissibility of Omicron requires much better measures to protect people who are highly vulnerable to C-19. This has been a staggering failure of the authorities responsible for C-19 policies.

A Thorough Documentation of the Facts

Taken together, the thoroughly documented facts in the full version of this article show that the horrors commonly blamed on variants are ultimately due to inept policies and actions. Yet, policymakers and public opinion shapers are failing to learn from their errors and continuing down the same destructive paths.

Ph.D. biostatistician Dr. Rodney X. Sturdivant, the Director of the Statistical Consulting Center at Baylor University, critically assessed this research and stated, “People will learn more about Covid immunity and vaccines from this article than if they watched and read everything published by most major media outlets since the outset of the pandemic.”

For the full report click here. 

James D. Agresti is the president of Just Facts, a think tank dedicated to publishing rigorously documented facts about public policy issues.