A popular anti-vaccine account shared a quote from a prominent anti-vaccine figure and current presidential candidate claiming that the CDC profits off vaccines. The quote falsely states that the CDC is a “vaccine company” that makes billions of dollars off vaccines each year.
The high-profile nature and large audience of the source increase the risk of misinformation. Debunking messaging may explain that, while the CDC does own vaccine patents and licenses vaccine technology, it doesn’t make any profit from them. The billion-dollar figure is the agency’s annual budget for purchasing vaccines, which it then makes available for free to the public. The CDC has patents on vaccine development technology that are available for use by researchers worldwide.
