Delta

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "quietly" confirm in late 2022 that at least 118,000 children and young adults have "died suddenly" in the U.S. since rollout of COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: Experts told Lead Stories that excess death data has been publicly published by the CDC since COVID was declared a pandemic in March…

Did a Pfizer representative "admit" the company erred when its COVID-19 vaccine was "never tested on preventing transmission" of the virus during clinical trials? No, that's not true. Vaccine clinical trials for drug approval are not meant to test that. Clinical trials are intended to check the safety and efficacy of new drugs and vaccines before they are approved for…

Did President Joe Biden tell Americans to get COVID vaccinations as Hurricane Ian was bearing down on Florida in late September 2022? No, that's not true: A post suggesting he did uses a video recorded in August 2021, not on the eve of Ian's landfall. Biden made no mention of vaccines when he spoke about Hurricane Ian at the White…

Is there still a mystery surrounding the bright red glow under the clouds seen by a pilot flying over the north Pacific Ocean? No, that's not true: Pilot Dustin Maggard spotted the red glow on July 16, 2022. Although there was initially some question about what caused the glow, experts verified that there were commercial fishing boats in the area…

Does this video show Delta Air Lines pilots protesting against the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: This video shows Delta pilots picketing at an airport to demand higher pay. The picket was unrelated to the COVID vaccination. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) posted on July 3, 2022. The video showed pilots walking in a straight…

Are Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest? No, that's not true: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an email to Lead Stories that the vaccines meet the agency's rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. In addition, the authors of this study created their…

Did the now-suspended COVID vaccine mandate for flight attendants cause a shortage in staffing that was to blame for widespread June 2022 flight delays? No, that's not true: None of the airlines that responded to inquiries by Lead Stories blamed the previous vaccination requirement for impacting summer operations. The federal government stopped enforcing the vaccine mandate in December 2021. The…

Was a Boeing 737 forced into an emergency landing on the beach after the pilot had a heart attack? No, that's not true: The footage is not real; it's gaming video footage created for entertainment. The video shows an animated airplane being shot at by animated police officers and then crashing on the beach of what appears to be Santa…

Do Pfizer documents prove the COVID-19 vaccine claim of 95% efficacy is "completely false"? No, that's not true. It's also not true that the vaccine hurts fetuses: While the 95% efficacy claim cited in memes on social media is a small exaggeration of actual study results, Pfizer documents submitted for emergency use authorization (EUA) and licensure of the vaccine showed…

Did the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publish data suggesting that triple vaccinated people in England are developing a new form of AIDS? No, that's not true: The data does not show immune systems being destroyed by COVID-19 vaccines but instead how vaccine efficacy wanes over time. COVID vaccines boost the ability of our bodies to fight coronavirus. They do…