Misinformation Alerts

This misleading claim underscores a persistent misconception about how vaccines are developed and tested. Debunking messaging may explain that updated COVID-19 vaccines use the same basic formula as the original vaccine and don’t require extensive testing, similar to annual flu shots and other vaccines that are updated to protect against multiple strains of the same pathogen. COVID-19 vaccine ingredients have been safety tested and monitored for over three years. Minor changes to the vaccine’s targets, like those in the updated COVID-19 vaccines, don’t impact its safety. Messaging may also emphasize that updated COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the XBB.1.5 subvariant and its close relatives, which make up around 90 percent of circulating variants.

Fact-Checking Source(s):

• USA Today, Verify This, FactCheck.org

The potential for this misinformation to damage trust in federal health authorities and public health guidelines increases its risk. Debunking messaging may emphasize that federal health agencies were the first to detect and alert the public to myocarditis as a rare potential risk of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in June 2021. In the following months, Fauci discussed vaccine-related myocarditis risk several times. Messaging may also emphasize that data from vaccine clinical trials, three years of safety monitoring, and real-world data demonstrate the safety of the mRNA vaccines. Infections like COVID-19 and the flu are the most common cause of myocarditis. Many large-scale studies have shown that the risk of developing myocarditis and other heart complications associated with COVID-19 infection is far higher than the risk from infection. Additionally, vaccine-related myocarditis cases are significantly milder than viral myocarditis, with most resolving on their own.

Fact Checking Source(s): Yale Medicine, American Heart Association

Responding to each false claim may detract from priority talking points. Ensuring FAQs include informational and educational resources about vaccine ingredients is recommended. Prebunking messaging could highlight the anti-vaccine tactic of using fake and “scary” vaccine ingredients to discourage vaccination.

Fact-checking sources:

• CHoP, University of Oxford

Fact-checking sources: This misleading clip has resurfaced and been debunked several times before. Debunking messaging may explain that the clip was deceptively edited to hide that the video was recorded while COVID-19 vaccines were still in development and before the CEO understood how they work. Messaging may also reinforce that vaccine mRNA cannot enter the cell nucleus or alter DNA.

Fact Checking Source(s): Snopes, USA Today

Misinformation linking COVID-19 vaccines to blood clots is widespread and persistent online. Debunking messaging may explain that there is no evidence that mRNA vaccines increase vaccine risk and that blood clots have been reported as an extremely rare adverse reaction to two non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Messaging may also emphasize that COVID-19 infection increases blood clot risk far more than any COVID-19 vaccine and highlight that viral images of alleged vaccine-related blood clots are almost always unsourced, and, in some cases, are not blood clots at all.

Fact Checking Source(s): Nebraska Medicine, Poynter, University of Buffalo