A false claim that a nursing home had zero deaths from COVID-19 until it started vaccinations is circulating on social media. Without any evidence, the claim states that the vaccine may have killed 24 people in a Syracuse nursing home. Officials from the nursing home are calling the claim “dangerously false” and misleading. They further clarified that the deaths mentioned in the claim are from an outbreak of COVID-19 that affected 137 residents, 24 of whom died. Although the nursing home has started vaccinating its residents, the outbreak occurred in December before vaccines were available and administered. Moreover, some of the residents that died did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Recommendation:
Passive Response Read More +
Continuing to regularly promote vaccines and their safety and efficacy is itself debunking this misinformation. In this case, the cause of death appears clear: COVID-19. However, as more people get vaccinated, morbidity and mortality will naturally occur among people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine; this is because at a population level, illness and death are always occurring. There is no evidence COVID-19 vaccines are linked to deaths. Suggested talking points would be to emphasize that adverse events after vaccination are investigated, there is no evidence COVID-19 vaccines are linked to deaths, and to educate on the normal, expected level of illness and death in the population. Familiarity with baseline levels of morbidity and mortality, along with the current incidence of COVID-19 deaths, can aid communicators in explaining coincidence vs. causation. Fact Checking Source(s): syracuse.com
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