NBC News is accused of intimidation after they published a story over the weekend in which four people in Oregon were highlighted who finally tested positive for COVID-19, even after receiving two doses of vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are effective in preventing disease in 95 percent and 94 percent of cases, respectively, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which means a small percentage of people are expected to get sick. to be even after they have been fully vaccinated. By compiling the story around the four positive tests rather than the declining number of cases in Oregon, critics are concerned that the NBC story may mislead people into believing that the vaccines are ineffective and discourage people from being vaccinated.
On Twitter, Brendan Nyhan, a professor of political science at Dartmouth and liberal blogger, calls the NBC story an ‘apocalypse of bad journalism’.
What an apocalypse of bad journalism.
These miraculous vaccines are ~ 95% effective. If you vaccinate millions of people with it, some will still get COVID (usually less severe). This is not news! And where is the headline on all the (much more prevalent) cases? https://t.co/WPKqDOuucU
– Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) 15 February 2021
The story, published Saturday afternoon, was based on a series of tweets Friday by the Oregon Health Authority that provide an update on the state’s pandemic. The Health Authority has recorded a decline of nearly 50 percent since early January, and the declining number of deaths and hospitalizations attributed to the new coronavirus.
The Health Authority also noted that ‘we are starting to receive reports from individuals who have tested positive after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.’ These so-called “breakthrough cases” involve people who become ill with COVID-19 at least 14 days after completing their vaccination series. The Health Authority reported that there were four such cases in Oregon.
“What it all means is that we can expect more breakthrough cases. “Getting as many Oregonians vaccinated as possible remains a critical goal in ending the pandemic,” the health authority said.
“What this all means is that we can expect to see more breakthrough cases. Getting as many Oregons vaccinated as possible remains a critical goal in ending the pandemic.”
OR Health Authority (@OHAOregon) 12 February 2021
The NBC story focused on the four ‘breakthrough cases’, with a headline that read: ‘Four people in Oregon who received both doses of vaccine positive for coronavirus.’ NBC noticed the declining number of COVD-19 cases about halfway through the story. The only other Oregon-specific vaccine story NBC has run over the past few weeks focuses on nurses going car-to-car in a snowstorm to disperse the expiring doses.
Attempts to reach NBC News and the Oregon Health Authority were unsuccessful on Monday.
On Monday, Fox News published its own version of the story, with the headline “Breakthrough” COVID-19 in 4 fully vaccinated individuals. The Fox story quotes a news release as saying, “Such cases are not unexpected.”
In a tweet, conservative radio host Erick Erickson suggested that stories like NBCs could further discourage vaccine-skeptical Americans from getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Allahpundit, an anonymous conservative blogger, questioned why the story was newsworthy at all.
Would be curious to hear NBC explain what makes this story newsworthy. We had members of Congress test positive after receiving both doses. Approximately? https://t.co/kIk5megHYE
– Allahpundit (@allahpundit) 15 February 2021
According to the CDC, more than 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and more than 69 million doses have been administered. Even in cases where vaccines contract COVID-19, the vaccines can reduce the severity of the disease.