Given the extra scrutiny and large number of doses, reports of possible side effects to a vaccine safety monitoring system increased with the COVID-19 vaccines. The high number of reports does not mean the vaccines are unsafe, contrary to suggestions made by posts sharing a clip of a Food and Drug Administration official acknowledging the surge.
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.
The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have a good safety record and have saved millions of lives. But viral posts claim the contrary, citing a recent peer-reviewed article authored by known COVID-19 misinformation spreaders and published in a controversial journal. The paper repeats previously debunked claims.
A study showed a type of lab mouse is highly susceptible to a coronavirus derived from pangolins, a scaly, cat-sized mammal. This doesn’t mean the virus is dangerous to humans. The virus is related to the one that causes COVID-19 but did not descend from it, contrary to claims that it is a “mutant COVID-19 strain.” Nor did scientists “craft” the virus.
The World Health Organization began using the term “Disease X” in a 2018 planning document to refer to a “currently unknown” illness. But since the term was used at the January meeting of the World Economic Forum, conspiracy theorists baselessly claim Disease X is part of a “Globalist Plan to … Install World Government.”
COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby. Side effects are generally mild, and studies don’t show negative effects on the baby. A criticized study that gave COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant rats doesn’t show that vaccines cause autism or that people shouldn’t get COVID-19 vaccines, contrary to claims.
COVID-19 vaccines are generally safe and have not killed 17 million people worldwide, contrary to claims amplified by podcaster Bret Weinstein during an interview with Tucker Carlson. Weinstein also inaccurately characterized a proposed World Health Organization pandemic accord and other changes, claiming they aim to take away “personal and national sovereignty.”
The COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives, according to multiple studies. Despite this, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo issued a statement on Jan. 3 calling for a halt in the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
A preprint on a Yale-based study described chronic symptoms self-reported after COVID-19 vaccination by 241 members of an online group. The paper, which has not been peer-reviewed, did not show how common these symptoms are in the general population, nor whether vaccinations caused them — limitations popular online posts did not make clear.
Data from around the world support the general safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. Some people online, however, incorrectly claim that illegally obtained data from New Zealand show the vaccines have killed 13 million people worldwide. Experts say the analysis is bogus.