Interview on Surani Fernando's "Vax Files" Apple podcast, "Real World Effectiveness of the Vaccine"
- Jeffrey Morris
- Oct 27, 2021
- 1 min read
I was interviewed by investigative journalist Surani Fernando for her podcast here in the episode on "Real World Vaccine Effectiveness" as part of her "Vax Files" Apple podcast:
Other expert guests also appearing on this podcast include: Dr Maria Elena Bottazzi: Associate Dean of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine Dr Nikolai Petrovsky: Prof of Medicine and vaccine developer, Flinders University Dr Andrew Read: evolutionary biologist & Prof of Biology, Penn State University
The discussion I was involved in covers the following topics:
Real world effectiveness of the vaccines, the effect of the Delta variant, & waning effectiveness vs. infection.
The basics of how the immune system works that explains why effectiveness wanes vs. infection but less so vs. severe disease
Data showing that while breakthrough infections after vaccination still can transmit, they tend to transmit less than unvaccinated infections. While transmission is more than we hoped, we discuss source of the misimpression of no protection vs. transmission.
The problem of people misinterpreting data because of a lack of understanding of the underlying quantitative nuances. Here is a quote where I think she summarizes it quite nicely:
"When people cherry pick simplified summaries of data that have not been properly stratified for normalized they can significantly distort the truth (and cause confusion), and this has been happening a lot during the pandemic with uninformed members of the public trying to interpret complex and multi-layered scientific data"
She is incredibly skilled as an investigative journalist and scientific communicator, with very accessible, well-organized podcasts.
Here is her website link that will also have future episodes, on which I will appear as well: https://feeds.resonaterecordings.com/the-covax-files
This is an excellent summary of a truly insightful interview! It’s great to see such a clear breakdown of complex topics like real-world vaccine effectiveness, the Delta variant's impact, and the nuances of waning immunity, especially against transmission versus severe disease. The point about misinterpreting data due to a lack of understanding is particularly salient, and Surani Fernando’s quote perfectly encapsulates this challenge in scientific communication. For anyone looking to present their own research or discussions online, having clear visuals is key. You might find YouTube Thumbnail Download useful for grabbing high-quality images from video content to aid in illustrating complex points.
This is such a timely and important discussion! The points about waning effectiveness against infection versus severe disease, and the nuance of breakthrough transmission, are crucial for public understanding. Surani Fernando sounds like an incredible interviewer, and her quote about data misinterpretation perfectly articulates a major challenge. It's refreshing to see complex scientific topics broken down so accessibly. For anyone looking for a creative way to simplify visuals, check out Image to Pixel Art – it's amazing for turning photos into crisp pixel art!
This sounds like a truly insightful discussion, especially with the caliber of experts like Dr. Bottazzi and Dr. Petrovsky weighing in. The points about waning effectiveness against infection versus severe disease, and the Delta variant's impact, are crucial for understanding the real-world complexities. I particularly appreciate Surani Fernando's quote on data misinterpretation; it highlights a significant challenge in public discourse. For anyone wanting to dive deeper into these kinds of nuanced discussions, especially if they're delivered via video, a tool like YouTube Transcript Generator could be incredibly helpful for reviewing the content.
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