Vaccine Fail

Does a list of two dozen papers allegedly funded, supported or published by government agencies present new evidence confirming that vaccines cause autism? No, that's not true: Those posts on social media reused old, previously debunked studies, stemming from a retracted article, not from government research. The claim is derived from a post published on Facebook on December 9, 2020,…

Do people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 shorten their average lifespan by a quarter century? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence or credible research to support the idea that being fully vaccinated for COVID-19 shortens a person's life expectancy. Vaccinations, including COVID-19 vaccines, go through rigorous testing and evaluation processes to ensure their safety and efficacy.…

Does a social media video prove that the advent of radio wave and mobile phone technology ushered in flu, COVID and other viral outbreaks from the 1900s on? No, that's not true: The emergence of these viruses is a natural process and not caused by technology itself. In addition, the timeline provided in the social media video doesn't establish cause…

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…

Does a new paper published in BMJ Medicine show that the COVID vaccine causes five times more myocarditis than the COVID virus and 10 times more in young people? No, that's not true: One of the study's authors told Lead Stories in a February 6, 2023, email that it's "an incorrect way to interpret our study." The paper only shows…

Did Japan launch an official investigation into "millions of COVID vaccine deaths" in December 2022 or early January 2023? No, that's not true: As of January 4, 2023, there is no available evidence to suggest that "millions" of people in Japan had died as a result of COVID vaccines, nor had any such investigation been announced by public health officials…

Does a reanalysis of Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine data show an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest? No, that's not true: The authors of this study created their own subset of serious adverse events of special interest (AESI), which give the appearance of there being a strong correlation between them and the vaccines when, in…

Did a 20-year-old woman from Kansas die shortly after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: Although Regan Lewis did experience cardiac arrest and die shortly after receiving a vaccine, Regan's mother Connie Lewis clarified that the vaccine was not for COVID after mistakenly saying so previously. There is also no confirmation that Regan's cardiac arrest and subsequent death…

Do mRNA COVID vaccines pose a significant health risk to recipients that warrants halting vaccination while global policies for COVID-19 are reappraised? Was insufficient testing performed on the vaccines prior to their public release? No, none of those are true: There's no evidence that mRNA COVID vaccines are unsafe for the general population. A professor of epidemiology told Lead Stories…

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…