>Vaccines do not cause mutations, period.

Let's not spread misinformation; this kind of rhetoric is precisely why I'm forever skeptical of this whole ordeal.

Any factor that causes a population bottleneck effect will inevitably cause "mutations" as you call it, more appropriately described as evolution or to cause survivors and their descendants to subsequently replace the prior population.

Factors that cause a population bottleneck effect include vaccination, among many other things; the most infamous example in medical contexts is perhaps antibiotics.

"Mutations", more appropriately evolution, is fundamental to life on Earth as we know it and is inevitable. New covid variants that are resistant to prior vaccines and immune responses are an evolutionary response to the population bottleneck effects imposed by vaccines and our immune systems.

Actual mutations will happen with or without vaccines; errors and accidents in the transcribing of DNA are inevitable. Most such transcribing errors are benign and inconsequential, but some lead to significant differences (eg: cancers, resistance to certain chemicals, etc.).

In a strict sense, vaccine do not cause mutations. Vaccines will help strains that have mutated by removing competition, but that's very different from molnupiravir which actually induces mutations.

You are playing a bunch of semantic games to try and say "I wasn't TECHNICALLY wrong, as long as you redefine all of my words" but you're just serving up word salad.

So no, vaccines DO NOT CAUSE mutations. Mutations are a natural consequence of replication. Vaccines CAN cause FEWER mutations, as they reduce how much the virus can replicate inside you before your immune system clears it, reducing how many chances at mutation the population of covid viruses have.

This conversation gets confusing because "mutation" as a term is being used inappropriately (it's why I add scare quotes). I alluded to this already in my comment.

Actual mutations, as in DNA transcribing errors, will occur regardless of vaccines. It's an inevitable part of DNA replication. Such mutations can lead to evolution when faced with certain environmental factors such as a population bottleneck effect.

Vaccines, by way or increasing immune system response, can cause a population bottleneck effect and encourage evolution. We're seeing it with covid variants resistant to prior vaccines and immune responses.

by way of*

Noticed the typo too late to edit it. :V

The original "vaccines do NOT cause mutations" was playing the same semantic game, by replying to a comment (that was obviously referring to selection pressure from population bottlenecks) with the most obtuse interpretation of it.