The false, meaningless claim that COVID-19 vaccines are “98 times” more harmful than COVID-19 is being circulated by right-wing blogs, social media accounts, and a popular conspiracy web broadcast. The claim is based not on a scientific study but on a non-peer reviewed risk-benefit analysis of COVID-19 boosters for university students.
Recommendation: Explaining that the analysis is flawed and that it is being misrepresented by vaccine opponents is recommended. The analysis claims that COVID-19 boosters for young adults are unethical because the boosters could potentially cause harm to individual young adults. There is no scientific evidence to support the conclusions of the analysis or the claim that serious adverse events from vaccination are more frequent than serious complications from COVID-19 infection. Posts about the analysis have also misrepresented the study to suggest that it refers to all COVID-19 vaccines instead of boosters. Fact Checking Source(s):