Pfizer

Does the U.S. government own or co-own Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, giving it an "ulterior motive" for mandating the shots? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support this claim. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which collaborated with Moderna on the shot, told Lead Stories in a September 28, 2022 email that it "neither owns…

Has the number of excess deaths in Europe gone up a "shocking 691%" in children since the European Medicines Agency (EMA) first approved the COVID vaccine for them? Yes, it's true that the number of excess deaths has gone up some sevenfold, but there's no evidence to support the implied connection between the increase and the start of COVID vaccinations…

Did 44 percent of pregnant women in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trial have miscarriages? No, that's not true: Author/activist Naomi Wolf incorrectly analyzed public information when making the claim that "out of 50 pregnant women, 22 of them lost their babies." Wolf and two publishers have all retracted the claim, which continued to circulate nonetheless. Jeffrey Morris, professor of biostatistics at…

Are airlines banning travelers who are vaccinated against the coronavirus from flying because the shot elevates their risk for blood clotting? No, that's not true: This rumor has recently resurfaced on social media after being thoroughly debunked when it first emerged in 2021. No publicly available evidence supports the claim airlines were banning the vaccinated as of this writing. This…

Did COVID vaccine trials skip animal testing and go straight to people because all the animals were dying? No, that's not true: In an email to Lead Stories, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, "The claim is completely false. All authorized and approved COVID-19 vaccines underwent animal studies." The claim appeared in an Instagram post and video on…

Did the U.S. military find wasp venom in COVID-19 vaccines for children? No, that's not true: As of July 28, 2022, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved for people 17 and under in the United States. Neither of them includes the venom of the tarantula hawk wasp, as a published claim states. U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Lisa Lawrence…

Do COVID-19 vaccines suppress the human immune system? No, that's not true: There is nothing to suggest that COVID shots have that sort of impact on the body's defenses. "There is no clinical or epidemiological evidence that COVID vaccines generally suppress or weaken the immune system," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at…

Did the U.S. military find scopolamine in COVID-19 vaccines for children? No, that's not true: As of July 22, 2022, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved for people 17 and under in the United States. Neither of them includes the anti-nausea medication. In a phone interview the same day, a U.S. Department of Defense official told Lead Stories, "This…

Is there a global recall of all COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of global public health agencies pulling their support for and endorsement of vaccinations to protect against SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus disease) and its variants. The World Health Organization told Lead Stories, "COVID-19 vaccines are being continuously assessed for their benefits versus risks. The consistent observation…

Are COVID vaccines linked to a 25 percent increase in cardiac arrest for both males and females in Israel? No, there's no evidence to support that. While data show an increase in calls to emergency medical services (EMS) for these types of events, it's unclear whether the final diagnoses of these cases represent "cardiac arrest and/or acute coronary syndromes at…