The Food and Drug Administration limited the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in early May due to the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, a condition that causes blood clots to form.
Some social media users are falsely claiming the agency recently announced the Pfizer vaccine carries a blood clot risk, too.
"So the FDA finally came out and said that Pfizer’s Covid shot causes blood clots?" reads a Dec. 17 tweet (direct link, archived link) from the Hodgetwins, a conservative political commentator duo. "Only 2 years late!"
Elon Musk tweeted in reply, "Much will come to light as Fauci loses power."
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The Twitter exchange generated more than 300,000 likes in less than a week. It was also shared on Instagram on Dec. 17 (direct link, archived link), where it generated more than 140,000 likes in a week.
But the claim is baseless.
The assertion stems from a recently published study led by FDA researchers and other medical professionals that found a "statistical signal" between pulmonary embolism – blood clots in the lungs – and the Pfizer vaccine. But this signal does not prove the Pfizer vaccine causes blood clots, medical experts told USA TODAY.
USA TODAY reached out to the Hodgetwins and the social media user who shared the claim for comment. Musk did not reply to USA TODAY's request for comment after...
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