A headline widely shared on Facebook alleges that Pfizer’s own data show that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine causes more harm than good.
“Alarming Six Month Pfizer Data Show COVID Vaccine Causes More Illness Than it Prevents + Major Trial Flaws,” the headline states.
It appears on an article on a website that says it provides “the support you need to assert your right to decline the shots.”
The article was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The actual data from Pfizer does not support any such claim.
“Patently false statement. The headline is ludicrous,” said Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
The headline alludes to a report that claims that six months of Pfizer’s own data shows that the company’s vaccine caused “increased sickness and death.”
That report “completely misstates” the Pfizer data, said Dr. Matthew Laurens of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
That data is reported in a New England Journal of Medicine study.
The study included some 46,000 people from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Germany and Turkey. Half received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and half received a placebo. The participants were checked after six months.
Among the conclusions:
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP advises Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) investors that the firm is investigating potential legal claims arising from alleged false and misleading statements about the co...