REVIEW The narrative that COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of getting sick with COVID-19 has resurfaced many times since the start of the vaccination campaign in late 2020. Health Feedback explained previously on multiple occasions that claims fe
Publication: covid-19
Health Feedback→ Claim that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines contain DNA contaminants based on study of vials of “unknown provenance”; no evidence COVID-19 mRNA vaccines can alter DNA in people
REVIEW On 11 June 2023, The Epoch Times republished an article by osteopath Joseph Mercola, which carried the headline “Monkey Virus DNA Found In COVID-19 Shots”. The article claims that a group of scientists had found “massive DNA contaminati
Health Feedback→ Breast cancer cases haven’t doubled in U.S. women under 45, despite social media claims
REVIEW A video that originated on TikTok and was widely shared on Facebook wrongly claimed that there was a spike in breast cancer cases in 2022. As this review will explain, the video misrepresented the data, and the change in the figure from previ
Truth or Fiction?→ Meta’s Zuckerberg Claims ‘Establishment’ Pushed for Censorship on COVID-19 Disinformation
Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg claimed that a nebulous “establishment” mistakenly pushed for his platform to censor information regarding COVID-19 because they thought it was disinformation. While discussing issues concerning moderation wit
Health Feedback→ There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccinations cause infertility or pregnancy complications
REVIEW On 30 May 2023, The Exposé published an article claiming that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) “admitted” that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility, citing changes made by the EMA to COVID-19 vaccine guidance indicating that heavy mens
Health Feedback→ There are FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. as of May 2023, contrary to claim by Peter McCullough
REVIEW COVID-19 vaccine distribution began in the U.S. on 14 December 2020, following the authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier that month. Almost two and a half years later, in May 2023, participants in an Arizona Sen
Health Feedback→ Cleveland Clinic study didn’t find more COVID-19 vaccine doses causes increased COVID-19 risk; association alone doesn’t imply causation
REVIEW The claim that a Cleveland Clinic study found taking more COVID-19 vaccine doses increases a person’s risk of COVID-19 went viral in early June 2023. An article by the Gateway Pundit containing this claim received more than 5,800 engagement
Health Feedback→ No evidence that COVID-19 vaccination left actor Jamie Foxx “paralyzed and blind” from brain blood clot
REVIEW The health of actor Jamie Foxx has come under intense speculation following reports of his hospitalization in April 2023, which was due to a “medical complication” according to his daughter Corinne Foxx. Unsubstantiated claims about Foxx
FactCheck.org→ Database Errors Fuel False Claims about HIV Cases in Military
SciCheck Digest 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 Def
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 is caused by a virus, not snake venom; no snake venom in COVID-19 vaccines, contrary to claim by chiropractor Bryan Ardis
REVIEW Among some of the wildest claims about the origins of COVID-19 can be traced back to chiropractor Bryan Ardis, who in an April 2022 pseudodocumentary titled “Watch The Water”, falsely claimed that COVID-19 wasn’t caused by a virus, but
Health Feedback→ No evidence that COVID-19 vaccines reduces the life expectancy of vaccinated people; COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase mortality rate
REVIEW Ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines offer a clear health benefit compared to their possible risks is of paramount importance for the population and health authorities. Large clinical trials as well as post-marketing monitoring showed that COVID-1
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Eugenicist Victim Blaming’: Disability Experts Criticize Story Painting COVID-19 as Near ‘Endemic’
A San Francisco television station’s story about an “endemic” phase to the COVID-19 pandemic alarmed disability experts and advocates. The story, aired by KGO-TV on May 22 2023, features Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine an
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 mRNA vaccines saved lives by reducing risks of infection and severe COVID-19
REVIEW Large randomized clinical trials (RCT) showed that COVID-19 vaccines were safe and effective against COVID-19, a disease that caused more than 6 million deaths worldwide as of May 2023. After the first year of mass vaccination worldwide, math
Health Feedback→ Neurological adverse events are very rare after COVID-19 vaccination and less frequent than after SARS-CoV-2 infection
REVIEW On 10 May 2023, a tweet from an account called Leading Report claimed that “COVID vaccines could be causing ‘long-term brain damage’”. The claim was based on a review published by Hosseini and Askari in the European Journal of Medical
Truth or Fiction?→ Did an Immunologist Group Post Video of Their Members Dancing Without Masks?
A video posted by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) has drawn attention online for showing members partying without wearing masks, despite the potential risk for patients they might encounter after leaving the event. The AAI posted a 20-s
Health Feedback→ Animal studies included in Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine approval application showed no signs of reproductive toxicity
REVIEW On 19 April 2023, the Brownstone Institute published an article claiming that Australian regulatory authority the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was unsafe during pregnancy before
Health Feedback→ Peter McCullough makes multiple false, misleading, and unsupported claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy in viral podcast
REVIEW On 22 April 2023, the website X22 Report published a 27-minute podcast interview with cardiologist Peter McCullough. During the interview, McCullough referred to the COVID-19 vaccination campaign as a “worldwide debacle” and repeated prev
Health Feedback→ No evidence that COVID-19 vaccination affects placenta, contrary to a claim by Naomi Wolf
REVIEW COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women has been a recurring subject of scientific disinformation since the onset of the vaccination campaigns in 2021. Health Feedback explained in previous reviews how COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is
Health Feedback→ Analysis by insurance executive Josh Stirling misrepresents official UK data, doesn’t show that COVID-19 vaccines led to 600,000 deaths
REVIEW An article published by the website The Florida Standard claimed that 600,000 Americans died from the COVID-19 vaccines, attributing this to an analysis by insurance executive Josh Stirling. Stirling collaborated with financier Edward Dowd to
Health Feedback→ High population immunity and low virus circulation the reasons for new Swiss COVID-19 vaccine recommendation, not vaccine injuries
REVIEW More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the world’s population has developed immunity to the disease either through vaccination or infection, prompting public health authorities to revise COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. In
Truth or Fiction?→ Retracted COVID-19 Vaccine Study Was Funded by Anti-Vaxxer
A Michigan State University economist’s study — which was criticized for claiming that COVID-19 vaccines could be blamed nearly 300,000 deaths — was retracted after the revelation that it was funded by an anti-vaccine former federal o
Health Feedback→ An ONS study didn’t show that the COVID-19 vaccine caused a higher risk of heart-related deaths in women, contrary to viral claim
REVIEW Claims that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine increased the risk of heart-related death in young women went viral on social media in early April 2023 (examples here and here). The claim was based on a 27 March 2023 study by the U.K. Office for
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines didn’t cause injuries and disabilities that cost the economy billions of dollars; vaccines benefited the economy
REVIEW Deployment of COVID-19 vaccines began in December 2020 in several countries. However, groups opposing COVID-19 vaccination continue to claim that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous for health and have negatively impacted society, which isn’
Poynter→ Health misinformation: The pandemic we can’t wish away
This op-ed was published in commemoration of International Fact-Checking Day, held April 2 each year to recognize the work of fact-checkers worldwide. “It’s because of the COVID vaccine … the flu […] The post Health misinformation: The pan
Health Feedback→ No evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines cause “shedding”; Pfizer trial protocol doesn’t admit that vaccine shedding occurs
REVIEW One of the myths about the COVID-19 vaccines is that they cause vaccinated people to shed spike proteins. This claim circulated in the first half of 2021, often combined with the claim that COVID-19 vaccines interfere with the normal menstrua
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause miscarriages or stillbirths contrary to misleading interpretations of VAERS data
REVIEW Vaccine misinformation founded on misleading presentations of data from adverse event databases are still going strong on social media. One example of this is a graph posted by Instagram users in March 2023, depicting a sharp increase in misc
Health Feedback→ Scientific evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase the risk of heart attacks, contrary to Russell Brand video
REVIEW On 27 February 2023, comedian Russell Brand published a YouTube video about a new study reporting a rise in heart attacks in young people. In the video, Brand took aim at a CBS News interview discussing the study. In the fashion of “just as
Health Feedback→ Vaccination recruits both the innate and adaptive immune system; COVID-19 vaccines are safe for children
REVIEW In May 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 12 to 15. The FDA later extended its authorization for children from five to 11 in October 2021 and from six months of age
Health Feedback→ No scientific evidence for the claim that nattokinase can treat long COVID or “detox” COVID-19 vaccines
REVIEW On 21 February 2023, cardiologist Peter McCullough, who has become known for spreading COVID-19 misinformation during the pandemic, published a Substack post claiming that nattokinase is the “Holy Grail of COVID-19 vaccine detoxification”
Health Feedback→ Social media clips revive false claims by David Icke linking 5G and COVID-19
REVIEW In March 2022, a Facebook reel originating from TikTok that featured conspiracy theorist and former football player David Icke went viral. In it, Icke wrongly claimed that the 60 GHz frequency of 5G “stops the human body and blood absorbing
FactCheck.org→ No Evidence Scientists Received Grant for Changing Opinion on Pandemic Origins, Contrary to Claims
In 2020, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded 11 grants to scientists so they could investigate how and where infectious agents emerge from wildlife and cause illness in humans. Although the grants were r
Health Feedback→ No evidence supports the use of medicinal plants mullein and marshmallow to cure or mitigate COVID-19
REVIEW Many claims of alternative or natural remedies against COVID-19 circulated on the internet during the pandemic. However, such claims are typically unsupported by clinical evidence, as Health Feedback’s previous reviews show. Similarly, a vi
Health Feedback→ U.S. mortality rate analysis by Josh Stirling is misleading; current data don’t show an association between COVID-19 vaccines and increased mortality
REVIEW In spite of pre-authorization clinical trials and post-marketing studies showing that COVID-19 vaccines’ benefits largely outweigh their possible risks, claims questioning their safety continue to persist. Health Feedback already showed
Health Feedback→ Analysis of alleged Medicare data by Steve Kirsch is flawed and doesn’t show COVID-19 vaccines increase mortality rate
REVIEW On 26 February 2023, entrepreneur Steve Kirsch published a Substack post with the headline “Medicare data shows the COVID vaccines increase your risk of dying”. Medicare is federal health insurance for people aged 65 and older in the U.
Health Feedback→ Risk of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is five times higher following COVID-19 than following vaccination
REVIEW Scientific evidence from pre-authorization clinical trials and post-marketing monitoring established that COVID-19 vaccines’ benefits in preventing severe disease and death largely outweigh their possible risks. However, inaccurate and
Health Feedback→ Viral memes listing COVID-19 topics about which authorities were allegedly “wrong” rehash debunked misinformation
REVIEW In late February 2023, posts and memes stating “we were right about everything” and listing several COVID-19-related topics went viral on social media platforms. Almost identical iterations of the list circulated widely on Facebook, Insta
Poynter→ New reports show backing for the COVID-19 lab leak theory, but government agencies remain divided
A Feb. 26 report by The Wall Street Journal sent major ripples through the policy world and social media. The article said the Energy Department had concluded in a five-page report that […] The post New reports show backing for the COVID-19 lab
Health Feedback→ Infection-induced immunity is more unpredictable and poses a higher risk than vaccine-induced immunity
REVIEW As COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, most countries implemented vaccine requirements to help limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2. This measure triggered an intense social debate about why previously infected people would still need to get
Health Feedback→ Florida Department of Health misleads on COVID-19 vaccine safety with erroneous comparison of VAERS reports
REVIEW On 15 February 2023, the Florida Department of Health published a “Health Alert on mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Safety”, stating that “In Florida alone, there was a 1,700% increase in VAERS reports after the release of the COVID-19 vaccine, co
Health Feedback→ New CDC data don’t confirm that the Pfizer bivalent booster shot increases the risk of ischemic strokes
REVIEW On 13 January 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a joint statement explaining that one of their pharmacosurveillance systems called Vaccine Safety Database