Berenson

Does data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) briefing from September 2023 show that mRNA COVID vaccines "CAUSE 100,000-200,000 severe side effects" for every one million shots given to "teens"? Yes, that's the label on a data chart, but it's misleading wordplay that makes vaccine aches and pains sound scarier than they are. The Food and Drug…

Did COVID-19 vaccines lead to the number of stillbirths being "nearly doubled" in Singapore? No, that's not true: The former journalist who posted the claim retracted it on his blog, noting that he missed the fact a law change in Singapore makes it mandatory to report all births, infant deaths and stillbirths, including those that occur outside hospitals. That resulted…

Did a "bombshell new study" prove that mRNA "jabs" have "caused tens of millions of serious new health problems worldwide," including a condition known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)? No, that's not true: The 2022 study, conducted by researchers from Cedars-Sinai and Brigham and Women's Hospital, found that COVID-19 vaccinations were associated with an increased risk of certain health…

Are COVID-19 vaccines "dangerous and ineffective" and do they "need to be withdrawn from the market"? No, that's not true: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vaccines are "safe and effective." More than 535 million doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in the United States since December 2020. Serious adverse events are rare, and reports of…

Do data from Ontario, Canada prove COVID-19 vaccines are either a failure or that omicron "preferentially infects vaccinated people"? No, neither of those choices is true: Using only raw data, the claim-maker draws a misleading conclusion and forces only two of the many interpretations that can be made from the data. The statistically elementary and valid way to compare the…

Did Pfizer under-report the number of deaths in the 40,000-person clinical trial of the company's COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: The claim ignores the fact that, over the course of an ongoing clinical trial for a new vaccine, numbers change when data are updated for multiple reporting deadlines. The claim is based in part on an early and informal…

Are COVID-19 vaccines the reason vaccinated people ages 10 to 59 in England are dying at twice the rate of the unvaccinated? No, that's not true: Age 10-59 is, statistically, a huge age group, so the claim uses a misleading "same age" comparison. Within that group are older adults, who are three times more likely to be vaccinated, with a…