For some time now, the US has been politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing COVID origins-tracing for many months. It has let a matter of science be dominated by lawmakers and the intelligence community and spread myths such as the “lab leak” theory without any evidence to discredit and attack China. This has seriously poisoned the atmosphere for science-based global origins-tracing and been perceived by people in the rest of the world.

Since the first vaccines against Covid-19 are already available for distribution and administration in various countries, this Congregation desires to offer some indications for clarification of this matter. We do not intend to judge the safety and efficacy of these vaccines, although ethically relevant and necessary, as this evaluation is the responsibility of biomedical researchers and drug agencies.

Although vaccine-induced myocarditis is not often fatal in young adults, MRI scans reveal that, of the ones admitted to hospital, approximately 80% have some degree of myocardial damage. It is like suffering a small heart attack and sustaining some – likely permanent – heart muscle injury. It is uncertain how this will play out in the longer-term, including if, and to what degree, it will increase the risk of poor quality of life or potentially more serious heart rhythm disturbances in the future.

Laboratories and the facilities mentioned in Section 23 (3) sentence 1 of the Infection Protection Act that examine test material and isolates of pathogens in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and carry out full genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the Federal Republic of Germany (investigative bodies) are obliged to provide assembled full genome sequences of isolates of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 for each individual case of full genome sequencing in a form defined by the Robert Koch Institute for the purpose of monitoring the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus surveillance) in pseudonymised form to the Robert Koch Institute. 

The TAG-CO-VAC considers that COVID-19 vaccines that have high impact on prevention of infection and transmission, in addition to the prevention of severe disease and death, are needed and should be developed. Until such vaccines are available, and as the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolves, the composition of current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated, to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide WHO-recommended levels of protection against infection and disease[4] by VOCs, including Omicron and future variants.

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