'Knowingly lying': DeSantis torched after falsely claiming the COVID vaccine is 'not preventing infection'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is being deeply criticized for his latest false claims about the COVID-19. On Thursday, November, 18, the Republican governor voiced his opposition to the vaccine mandates. At one point during his speech he also claimed, "The data is very clear at this point, COVID vaxes are not preventing infection."

Twitter users quickly pointed out the problem with his remarks. Contrary to DeSantis' belief, there is certainly data to support the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. One Twitter user wrote, "This is not about personal liberty. DeSantis is making a specific is making a specific epidemiological claim that the vaccines are ineffective. He is anti-vaccine."

Despite Desantis' claim, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released data detailing vaccine efficacy.

Per the CDC, "Based on evidence from clinical trials in people 16 years and older, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 in people who received two doses and had no evidence of being previously infected." Research has also indicated that the Moderna vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94.1%.

It is true that further research has indicated that the delta variant and extended time since vaccination may decrease the immune system's efficacy at preventing infection somewhat. That's one reason vaccinated people have still been advised to wear masks and to get booster shots. But it remains clear that, despite DeSantis's claim, the vaccines are preventing many, many cases of infection that would have otherwise occurred and saving lives.