Fox News health commentator Dr. Kelly Powers was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in July 2020, months before COVID-19 vaccines were made available in the U.S. But social media posts are baselessly linking her death on Dec. 4 to the vaccines. There is no evidence that the vaccines cause or worsen cancer.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s suggestion that vaccines might cause autism because “there’s not been a direct study on each individual vaccine” misunderstands what’s known about autism, the extensive research on the subject and how science works.
In one of his most controversial Cabinet picks, President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Here, we summarize our past work fact-checking Kennedy’s claims about health and science.
In the waning days of his campaign, former President Donald Trump has further embraced some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s incorrect or controversial views on health, including vaccines and fluoride.
An abundance of evidence indicates the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are remarkably safe and work well to protect against severe disease. But last month, the state of Florida issued updated vaccine guidance advising “against the use” of the shots entirely — even for people who are older and at higher risk of severe disease. Experts say the advice is ill-informed and “illogical.”
Updated COVID-19 vaccines targeting JN.1-lineage omicron variants of the coronavirus are now available in the U.S. for the fall and winter seasons. Here we answer common questions about the latest vaccines.
Responding to rising mpox cases in Africa, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14. Social media posts subsequently repeated a plethora of false or baseless claims, including that COVID-19 vaccines cause the viral disease or that the current outbreak is part of a global conspiracy.
Case numbers for the global mpox outbreak have decreased since 2022, but the situation in Africa has noticeably worsened. On Aug. 14, the World Health Organization once again declared an mpox public health emergency of international concern. Here, we answer questions about the current increase in mpox cases, the international public health emergency and what this means for people in Africa and globally.
The circulation of H5N1 bird flu in animals and limited infections in humans have motivated flu preparedness activities, such as stockpiling vaccines. Social media posts have baselessly implied that these efforts are evidence that a new laboratory-derived version of the virus is going to cause a pandemic — or even that there is a conspiracy to release bird flu from a lab.
In a leaked phone call with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former President Donald Trump incorrectly suggested that childhood vaccine doses are too large and can provoke sudden, radical changes in babies. There’s no evidence that the current vaccination schedule is harmful to kids.