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SciCheck Digest
Comedian Amy Schumer has said she’s having “some medical and hormonal” issues related to endometriosis that have affected her appearance. But some social media users are falsely claiming that Schumer announced she is suffering from a vaccine-related ailment. Schumer has said no such thing.
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Comedian Amy Schumer recently appeared on NBC’s “Tonight Show” and ABC’s “The View” to promote the new season of her Hulu show, “Life & Beth.”
Following those appearances, some social media users commented on her looks and speculated about her health.
Schumer responded in a Feb. 15 Instagram post reminding people that she has endometriosis — a painful condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. The condition “may affect more than 11% of American women between 15 and 44,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay,” Schumer explained.
Schumer also wrote, “[T]hank you so much for everyone’s input about my face! I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you’re right it is puffier than normal right now.”
Despite her clear explanation, some social media posts have taken the speculation further, falsely claiming that Schumer “Says She Developed VAIDS After Third Booster.”
The claim is spreading as a screenshot meme that appears to have been taken from a website called ThaiMBC, which appears to post dubious news and health content along with articles about traveling to Thailand.
The pictures featured in the ThaiMBC post and in the social media memes show Schumer in a hospital gown. They were taken from a Sept. 18, 2021, post to Schumer’s Instagram account after she had her uterus removed due to endometriosis.
So, the pictures shown in the posts have nothing to do with vaccination, and Schumer has made no such statement about vaccine-related illness.
In fact, “VAIDS,” the ailment mentioned in the posts, doesn’t even exist.
“There is no phenomenon that I know of ‘Vaccine-induced immunodeficiency syndrome.’ It is not a real syndrome,” Donna Farber, chief of the division of surgical sciences and professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, told Reuters.
Similarly, Dr. Stephen Gluckman, a professor of infectious diseases in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told the outlet, “VAIDS” is “absolutely not” a real condition.
Update, Feb. 28: Schumer announced on Feb. 23 that she had been undergoing medical testing while she was doing her press tour and that she has now been diagnosed with exogenous Cushing syndrome, which is a hormonal disorder that can cause a person’s face to look full and round.
Editor’s note: SciCheck’s articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.org’s editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.
Sources
World Health Organization. Endometriosis. 24 Mar 2023.
Schumer, Amy (@amyschumer). “If you have really painful periods you may have #endometriosis.” Instagram. 18 Sep 2021.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID-19 State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report.” 28 Mar 2022.
Reuters. “‘VAIDS’ is not a real vaccine-induced syndrome, experts say; no evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause immunodeficiency.” 14 Feb 2022.