Trending Misinformation about Vaccines & COVID-19
- Posts on Instagram and Facebook have falsely claimed that the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than measles itself. Measles can be serious in all age groups, and two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective at preventing the virus. While there is a small chance that someone could have a reaction to MMR vaccination, the vaccine does not cause measles and receiving the vaccine is much safer than contracting the measles.
- A video posted on Facebook falsely claims that COVID-19 does not exist, though the video does not present proof that the pandemic is fake. In reality, COVID-19 does exist, has been extensively studied by researchers globally, and there have been over 62.8 million cases of COVID-19 across the world.
- Several online articles have been trending featuring false claims made by a former VP of Pfizer. Two of the most prominent claims are that there is no need for vaccines to end the pandemic, and that the pandemic is effectively over.