Social media pages that share anti-vaccine messages have used a selectively edited news clip that suggests the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe. The clip shows a nurse fainting after she gets the vaccine, but it doesn’t show her quick recovery afterward when she explains that she is prone to fainting when triggered by even a slight pain.
Three COVID-19 vaccines are now authorized in the U.S. In this story, we answer some common questions about the shots.
A false claim that an unidentified nurse died after getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama has been feeding into the anti-vaccine disinformation online. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported that no one who has received the vaccine has died.
A video circulating on social media falsely claims that vaccines for COVID-19 have a microchip that “tracks the location of the patient.” The chip, which is not currently in use, would be attached to the end of a plastic vial and provide information only about the vaccine dose. It cannot track people.
Social media posts are peddling the baseless claim that the first recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom was actually a “crisis actor.” There is no evidence for that conspiracy theory.
A primer on the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive authorization and approval in the U.S.
In a tweet, Sen. Rand Paul misleadingly suggested that immunity from “[n]aturally acquired” COVID-19 was better than that from a vaccine. But it’s not known how immunity from the two sources compares — and the entire point of a vaccine is to offer immunity without the risk of getting sick.
A report from two dozen experts — including a doctor named to President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board — recommended using existing social service programs to connect people with COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The report did not advise requiring vaccination in order to receive such services, as social media posts falsely claim.
In a series of tweets, President Donald Trump claimed — without evidence — that the pharma company Pfizer and his own FDA purposely held off on releasing positive interim results about a COVID-19 vaccine candidate until after the election.
We fact-check claims the candidates made in rallies and TV ads in the days before Election Day.