Public health organizations have explained that the reason there were far fewer cases of the flu in 2020 and 2021 was likely due to measures adopted to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, such as handwashing and social distancing. But a post on social media has spread the false claim that the dip in flu cases suggests that COVID-19 was a hoax.
Even after contracting the coronavirus and being hospitalized, President Donald Trump has continued to downplay the risks of COVID-19 and exaggerate the progress the U.S. has made in fighting the pandemic.
Deflecting attention from the rise in COVID-19 cases, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the Obama administration “stopped testing” during the H1N1 pandemic. But the two viruses are very different, making the comparison misleading.
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.
Facing a declining stock market and criticism from Democrats, President Donald Trump and other officials have minimized the risks of the coronavirus to the U.S. and given inaccurate and misleading information about the new virus.
A popular Instagram post falsely claims “over 1,100 people died from reactions to the [flu] shot” in 2018, and suggests that the immunization gave some children polio. The flu vaccine cannot give anyone polio and there is no evidence to support the 1,100 figure.
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.
President Donald Trump did not call the flu shot a “scam,” as is being claimed by a number of widely circulated blog articles.