A viral claim on Facebook erroneously tells users that “you will test positive” for COVID-19 if “you’ve gotten flu shots during the past ten years.” Vaccine and infectious disease experts told us that’s false, and the Food and Drug Administration says this hasn’t been observed in any authorized tests.
President Donald Trump cast doubt on the value of influenza vaccines, saying he only got a flu shot because he was required to as president. “I don’t know if I should have. Who knows?” But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says each year the vaccine saves thousands of lives and prevents tens of thousands of hospitalizations.
A claim being pushed on social media and by an organization skeptical of vaccines is using a military study to falsely suggest that the flu vaccine increases someone’s risk of contracting COVID-19.
A self-described “alternative news” story suggests the flu shot was responsible for the death of a New York state senator. The official cause of death is still pending.