The claim

The New York Health Authority is said to have confirmed in a tweet that the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is more likely to affect those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.

Our conclusion

What is made clear in another tweet and is also on the New York Health Authority's homepage: Compared to previous variants , people who have been vaccinated or who have already had COVID-19 are more likely to be infected. The bold half-sentence was missing in the first tweet and thus caused a misunderstanding that those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are more likely to become infected with the new variant than those who are not vaccinated.

Opponents of vaccination repeatedly predict a “pandemic of the vaccinated”, meaning that vaccinated people are actually to blame for the fact that SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread.
Now even the New York health authority is said to have confirmed that the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is more likely to affect vaccinated and recovered people - meaning that unvaccinated people are safer from it. But the context of the sentence in the tweet escapes many people!

The supposed proof tweet

On January 13, the NYC Department of Health wrote the following about the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 on Twitter:

In German:

“Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 73% of all sequenced COVID-19 cases in NYC. XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible form of COVID-19 known to date and may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or who have already had COVID-19.”

Source: Twitter

In this context, the following text from the NYC Department of Health under the tweet becomes strange: Didn't you just write that those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are more likely to become infected? So why do you still recommend vaccination?

“Getting vaccinated and receiving the current booster shot is still the best way to protect yourself from hospitalization and death from COVID-19, including from these new variants.”

Source: Twitter

However, this supposed contradiction does not seem to be questioned by opponents of vaccination, because the individual tweet sounds clear enough to them: those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are more likely to become infected with the new sub-variant. Or?

Trump's former favorite channel Fox News also reported on the NYC Department of Health's tweet:

“The Omicron subvariant

Source: Twitter

Numerous tweets have since spread the tweet and Fox News article. The New York Post also reported the statement in a short article, but without going into detail about the apparent contradiction as to why the New York health authority even recommends the vaccination.

When missing half a sentence causes confusion

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

A tweet can contain 280 characters. In the New York Health Authority's tweet, there would have been 28 characters left to complete the written sentence - which would have been desirable, because then there wouldn't be the current confusion and jubilation from anti-vaccination activists.

To understand the apparently contradictory statement, all you have to do is take a look at the homepage of the NYC Department of Health , because there you can find the exact sentence from the tweet regarding the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 - but a little longer!

MIMIKAMA
The Missing Half Sentence, Source: NYC Department of Health

So the full sentence is: “ It may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or previously had COVID-19 compared to prior variants.

In German: “ Compared to previous variants , people who have been vaccinated or who have already had COVID-19 are more likely to become infected.

So what the New York health authority explains: Those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are not as well protected against the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.5 as against previous variants. Nevertheless, vaccination is still better protection than remaining unvaccinated.

It wasn't until January 17th, when they realized that their tweet was causing misunderstandings, that they tweeted about it again, but this time with the missing half sentence:

“XBB.1.5 may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or have previously had COVID-19 than previous variants . Vaccination remains the best way to protect against hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, including from these new variants.”

Source: Twitter

However, the old tweet on the topic is still online and is being misused by opponents of vaccination as an argument that there is now a “pandemic of vaccinated people”.

Conclusion

Mimikama Rating: LACK OF CONTEXT

It is annoying enough in itself that the New York health authority only reproduces its own statement from the homepage in abbreviated form (even though there were still enough characters left) and thus causes misunderstandings. What's even more annoying is that Fox News and the New York Post are adopting the tweet statement without even taking a quick look at the health authority's homepage.

Unfortunately, this is another example of how even large media outlets often do not check sources and statements enough and even overlook a supposedly contradictory statement and only use a single tweet as the basis for a sensational headline of an article.

Another example of a false headline: Several media outlets reported the amusing news: Prince Harry is said to have come out as a fan of DJ Ötzi in his book.
Sounds funny, but it's not true: there's nothing about it in the book, the rumor arose from a running joke. – Prince Harry is not into DJ Ötzi – How a rumor started

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