Vaccination Archives - Page 4 of 22

Posts Exaggerate Significance of Swiss Study on Heart Risk and COVID-19 Vaccination

August 11, 2023

A Swiss study found that after a COVID-19 booster, less than 3% of people briefly had a slightly elevated blood level of a protein that can be a marker of heart injury. No one in the study had any serious heart damage, and other experts say the findings are unlikely to be clinically significant. Viral posts, however, are spinning the results to falsely claim that the study shows the vaccine’s risks are “off the scale.”

RFK Jr.’s COVID-19 Deceptions

August 11, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s battle against vaccines — and against the institutions that promote them — goes back to at least the mid-2000s, as we explain in the first article of this series. But the arrival of COVID-19 gave the environmental attorney fresh grounds to intensify his attacks and a timely platform to gain new followers and revenue.

FactChecking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

August 9, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, is running for president as a Democrat. Our SciCheck team has combed through his recent interviews to identify and correct some of his most common health claims in a three-part series. In this first installment, we address several of his talking points about vaccines.

Pfizer Facility Damaged in Tornado Didn’t Produce COVID-19 Vaccines

July 25, 2023

No COVID-19 vaccines were affected by the tornado that damaged Pfizer’s North Carolina warehouse, which doesn’t produce the vaccines. But some misinformation spreaders are claiming vaccines were destroyed.

TikTok Video Mangles American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Estimates

June 23, 2023

Breast cancer in younger women has been increasing gradually in recent decades. But a social media post misrepresents case number projections for 2022 and 2023 to falsely claim they show a dramatic rise in early-onset breast cancer — and then baselessly ties its faulty comparisons to COVID-19 vaccines.

Cleveland Clinic Study Did Not Show Vaccines Increase COVID-19 Risk

June 16, 2023

Numerous studies have found that additional COVID-19 shots are generally associated with extra protection against the coronavirus. Many people on social media, however, have shared a preliminary finding from a Cleveland Clinic study and misrepresented it as proving that getting more doses increases a person’s risk of infection.

Database Errors Fuel False Claims about HIV Cases in Military

June 1, 2023

The rate of new HIV infections in the military has been relatively unchanged since 2017. But social media posts falsely claim that the military has recorded a “500% increase in HIV since the COVID vaccine rollout.” A Defense Department spokesperson said errors in a military database sparked the inaccurate claim.

mRNA Vaccines Protect Against COVID-19 Mortality, Contrary to Misleading Posts

May 26, 2023

Numerous studies have shown the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19. But some social media posts are citing a criticized study that focuses on overall mortality to falsely imply the vaccines are harmful and don’t work.

COVID-19 Vaccine Benefits Outweigh Small Risks, Contrary to Flawed Claim From U.K. Cardiologist

May 8, 2023

Dozens of studies support the use of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which have a good safety profile and work well in preventing severe disease and death. Yet, citing a single, flawed paper, a British cardiologist known for peddling misinformation has misleadingly argued that the shots are harmful and “should never have been approved.”

No Evidence Excess Deaths Linked to Vaccines, Contrary to Claims Online

April 17, 2023

COVID-19 vaccines substantially reduce the risk of dying from COVID-19, and serious side effects are very rare. Excess deaths among working-age adults in 2021 and 2022 were due to COVID-19 and other factors, not vaccination. Faulty logic underlies claims that vaccines caused mass disability and economic harm.