A video shared to social media claims to feature audio of famed vaccine developer Dr. Maurice Hilleman admitting that the polio vaccine was used to spread cancer and HIV/AIDS. The video plays audio of a man speaking over images of people sick with AIDS and cancer. There is no evidence that the voice belongs to Hillman or that he ever made any such comments. For years, the myth that vaccines cause cancer and other deadly diseases have persisted worldwide.

Recommendation: Passive Response Read More +

The latest video from an activist group known for its deceptively edited videos features an alleged Pfizer whistleblower claiming that antibodies produced from natural infection are superior to those produced by vaccination. He goes on to say that Pfizer's strategy is to make life inconvenient for unvaccinated people to force them to get vaccinated. The video and its false claims have been shared by several large social media accounts. Studies into vaccine versus virus-induced immunity have produced mixed results. What we do know is that there is no safe way to acquire natural immunity and not everyone who contracts COVID-19 will develop protective antibodies against it.

Recommendation: Direct Response Read More +

A preprint of a non-peer-reviewed study about vaccine myocarditis risk has been withdrawn due to a miscalculation. The study claimed that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause a 1 in 1,000 risk of myocarditis. The authors later acknowledged that they under-calculated the number of vaccines that were administered during the study period. The miscalculation resulted in a “vastly” inflated myocarditis risk, according to a statement from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where the study was conducted. Prior to its withdrawal, the study was widely circulated on social media and websites known to publish vaccine misinformation.

Recommendation: Direct Response Read More +

A former U.S. National Security Adviser who in the past has promoted QAnon conspiracy theories claimed that government entities who are part of the “Deep State” are slipping vaccines into salad dressing. The perplexing claim seems to originate from ongoing research at the University of California, Riverside, exploring the production of mRNA vaccines in edible plants like lettuce.

Recommendation: Ignore Read More +

An article published in “Toxicology Reports" asserts that there is insufficient evidence to continue vaccinating children against COVID-19 because they are at low risk of dying from the disease. The article focuses primarily on the cost-benefit analysis of COVID-19 vaccine safety versus potential risk from COVID-19 in children, relying entirely on VAERS-reported adverse events. The study concludes that COVID-19 deaths in children are “negligible” compared to VAERS-reported deaths. In fact, no confirmed pediatric deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines have been reported in the more than 13 million children who have received at least one vaccine dose. While children are at low risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, more than 22,000 children have been hospitalized with the disease in the U.S. to date, and children can spread the virus to caregivers and other adults. The article also concludes that most people who died from COVID-19 “probably would have died from the flu or many of the other comorbidities they had.” Contrary to the article’s argument that COVID-19 deaths had no impact on mortality rates, COVID-19 resulted in nearly half a million excess deaths in 2020 and remains the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Recommendation: Direct Response Read More +