Posts Exaggerate Lab Findings About COVID-19’s Impact on Immune System

SciCheck Digest

Outside of long COVID or very severe cases, most research suggests COVID-19 doesn’t cause lasting damage to the immune system. A few studies have found evidence of some possible damage, but nothing as severe as an immunodeficiency. People on social media, however, are misinterpreting a recent study to incorrectly claim COVID-19 is HIV-like.

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COVID-19 can be serious and life-threatening. But in many cases, particularly if someone is vaccinated, the disease is mild. While there is a real risk of long COVID — lingering or new symptoms after infection with the coronavirus, which can sometimes be debilitating — most research suggests people who recover do just fine.

Studies show that most people who have been infected with the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, are well-protected against severe disease if infected again, with subsequent or prior vaccination offering even more protection. 

There is no evidence that COVID-19 has left large swaths of the population immunocompromised or unable to fight off either the coronavirus or other pathogens.

Yet, as Slate has written, certain corners of the internet have misleadingly claimed that COVID-19 causes widespread immune dysfunction or immunosuppression that is leaving the entire population susceptible to all sorts of subsequent infections. In some cases, COVID-19 has incorrectly been likened to HIV/AIDS.

The latest versions of these   cite a recent paper from the National Institutes of Health.