Several trending social media posts, including one from a U.S. congressperson, falsely claim that Pfizer documents show that 1,223 people died in the first few months of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The posts have been shared over 60,000 times.
There is no evidence that the deaths that occurred during the vaccine rollout, when tens of millions of people were vaccinated, are linked to the vaccine. If millions of people engage in any activity, some number will die in the weeks and months after the activity. That doesn’t mean that the activity is the cause of those deaths. Messaging may emphasize that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and cause only mild side effects. Emphasizing that side-effect reporting systems often contain unverified reports while directing to actual evidence is recommended, as is continuing to explain what mild side effects people can expect after vaccination.
