NBC accused of hyping cases of people who contracted COVID-19 despite vaccinations

NBC News is accused of alarmism after posting an article over the weekend highlighting four people in Oregon who ended up testing positive for COVID-19 even after receiving two doses of the vaccine.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are effective in preventing disease 95% and 94% of cases respectively, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which means a small percentage of people are still expected to get sick even after have been fully vaccinated. By framing its story around the four positive tests rather than the declining number of cases in Oregon, critics fear the NBC story could mislead people into believing vaccines aren’t working and discouraging people to get vaccinated.

On Twitter, Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political science professor and liberal blogger, called the NBC story “the apocalypse of bad journalism.”

The story, published Saturday afternoon, was based on a series of Friday tweets from the Oregon Health Authority providing an update on the pandemic in the state. The Health Authority has noted a drop of nearly 50% in new cases since early January and a drop in the 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 contract COVID-19 at least 14 days after completing their series of vaccinations. The Health Authority reported that there had been four such cases in Oregon.

The story continues

“All of this means that we can expect to see more cases of rupture. Vaccinating as much of Oregon as possible remains a critical goal in ending the pandemic, ”the Health Authority reported.

NBC’s story focused on the four “breakthrough cases,” with a headline that reads: “Four people in Oregon who received both doses of vaccine tested positive for coronavirus.” NBC has noted the decrease in the number of daily cases of COVD-19 midway through its history. The only other Oregon-specific vaccine story that NBC has published in recent weeks focuses on nurses driving from car to car in a snowstorm to dispense expiring doses.

Attempts to reach NBC News and the Oregon Health Authority failed on Monday.

Fox News released its own side of the story on Monday, with the headline “‘Breakthrough’ COVID-19 reported in 4 fully vaccinated people. The Fox story quoted a press release that said, “Such cases are not unexpected.”

In a tweet, conservative radio host Erick Erickson suggested that stories like NBC’s may further discourage vaccine-skeptical Americans from getting the COVID-19 shot.

Allahpundit, an anonymous conservative blogger, asked why this story was newsworthy.

More than 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States and more than 69 million doses have been administered, according to the CDC. Even in cases where vaccinated people contract COVID-19, vaccines can reduce the severity of the disease.

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