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On Friday, January 13th, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent out a press release announcing something-or-other having to do with the Pfizer COVID vaccine and ischemic strokes. I say “something-or-other” because most Americans have no idea what the CDC was trying to say. Most Americans do not get press releases from the CDC, they find out about these things through the news media. And look what happened here:
- Reuters headlined their story U.S. FDA, CDC see early signal of possible Pfizer bivalent COVID shot link to stroke
- The New York Post said CDC investigating whether Pfizer COVID vaccine increases stroke risk for people over 65
- POLITICO had it that CDC, FDA see possible link between Pfizer’s bivalent shot and strokes
- CNBC’s version was Pfizer Covid booster likely doesn’t carry seniors’ stroke risk: CDC
- Yahoo News was definitive: CDC and FDA find no increased risk of ischemic stroke for elderly who get Pfizer’s bivalent booster
- In Santa Ana, the OC Register told its readers Pfizer bivalent COVID vaccine investigated for possible link to strokes
- Covering all the bases, CNN said that CDC identifies possible safety issue with Pfizer’s updated Covid-19 vaccine but says people should still get boosted
I went to the CDC site and read their press release so that you don’t have to. Forbes probably had the closest approximation to what the CDC intended with CDC Exploring Possible But Unlikely Link Between Covid-19 Bivalent Booster And Strokes. RedState’s Teri Christoph got close with CDC Finally Admits to ‘Safety Concern’ Over COVID Vaccines which is neither particularly alarming nor definitive.
The CDC obviously missed the mark with this announcement since they caused a small army of Professional Journalists with degrees and stuff to scatter in all directions and tell the public totally contradictory things.
My question is: How many times has this happened? I tripped over this because some clown on Twitter was trying to say that the CDC announced an investigation, and then published their conclusions, on the same day. Looking at the headlines above, I can see how somebody could think that. But I spent too many years working around government bureaucrats to believe that they did anything that fast. I went looking to find out what was going on. This is horrible. No wonder the public is confused. We have a news media peopled by “reporters” who don’t understand what they are reading and do not realize that and so do not ask questions. They just go right ahead and say that the vaccine is linked to stroke. Or it isn’t. Or maybe it is but you should get it anyway.
And when they get done making a hash of the news from the medical front, they’ll tell us how the economy works.