> I think the “vaccinated individuals can have high viral loads” line is particularly bad
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.09.28.21264262v...
https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/covid-19/news/viral-loads-sim...
How is a statement about what some researchers are finding "particularly bad"? If vaccinated individuals routinely have viral loads as high as those seen in unvaccinated individuals, it warrants more research into how the virus affects their bodies and what, if any, risks they might face both short term and long term.
According to one study[1], vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID by 49%. Given that some studies have found the incidence of long COVID is in the double digit percentages[2], exploring this issue is not purely academic. It is pertinent to the hundreds of millions of vaccinated individuals who are still at risk of infection, even if their risk of hospitalization and death has been significantly reduced.
Science works when we ask and investigate important questions. It doesn't work when we ignore these questions because we're afraid of the optics and how they might be misconstrued by some people.
In fact, when it comes to COVID generally, it seems evident to me that shying away from difficult questions has had the opposite of the intended effect. It has probably caused more people to adopt anti-science views and reject beneficial measures like vaccination.
[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-09-02/...
[2] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/more-than-one-thir...