CLAIM: Thailand is canceling its COVID-19 vaccine contract with Pfizer after its princess fell into a coma following a booster shot.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. There are no plans to alter Thailand’s contract with the New York-based pharmaceutical giant, an official with the country’s National Vaccine Institute said. Thailand’s Department of Disease Control also rejected the claims as “fake news.” Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s condition was attributed to an irregular heartbeat caused by a mycoplasma infection, and medical experts confirmed the infection is not known to be a side effect of COVID vaccines.
THE FACTS: As concerns about the health of the princess mountfollowing her December collapse, social media users are falsely claiming the Southeast Asian kingdom is taking drastic measures against a suspected culprit: Pfizer, one of the primary makers of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
“Thailand princess has been in a coma for about 3 weeks after getting a booster,” wrote one Twitter user in a post that’s been liked or shared roughly 28,000 times as of Tuesday. “The Royal family has discovered Pfizer has lied & it’s looking like they will tear up their contract & demand billions back. This could be the start of Pfizer’s demise.”
Many of the users link to comments recently made in an online interview by Sucharit Bhakdi, a retired microbiology professor and vocal opponent of COVID vaccines.
The former professor at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany, whose parents...
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