Did Amy Schumer say she developed "vaccine acquired immune deficiency syndrome" (VAIDS) as a result of COVID-19 vaccination? No, that's not true: Schumer said on her Instagram account that she has endometriosis, a disease that causes tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow outside the uterus. VAIDS is not a recognized medical condition related to COVID-19 vaccination or any other vaccination, and Schumer did not say she had such a condition.
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by The People's Voice on February 16, 2024, titled "Amy Schumer Says She Developed VAIDS After Third Booster." Their story opened:
Amy Schumer has revealed that she developed full-blown Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (VAIDS) as a direct result of getting multiple COVID jabs.
This is what the article looked like on The People's Voice website at the time of writing:
(Source: The People's Voice screenshot taken on Mon Feb 19 16:05:09 2024 UTC)
The article
The claims made in the story's headline and opening sentence are not supported by the rest of the article. The People's Voice undermined its own headline and opening sentence by including in the article a quote from the comedian, actress, writer, producer and director:
'Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face. I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right, it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis, an auto immune disease that every woman should read about,' Schumer posted on social media.
The excerpt comes from the caption of a post (archived here) on Instagram from February 15, 2024, in which Schumer talks about her TV show "Life & Beth." In full, the Instagram caption says:
At midnight tonight! Binge both full seasons of @lifeandbethhulu and thank you so much for everyone's input about my face! I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right it is puffier than normal right now.
I have endometriosis an auto immune disease that every woman should read about. There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I'm okay. Historically women's bodies have barely been studied medically compared to men. The book "all in her head" does a good job explaining this.
I also believe a woman doesn't need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation. But I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self love and acceptance of the skin you're in. Like every other women/person some days I feel confident and good as hell and others I want to put a bag over my head. But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud of this tv show I created. Wrote. Starred in and directed. Maybe just maybe we can focus on that for a little.
I had backup dancers on Fallon but my face is the headline hahaha anyway I hope you enjoy life and Beth. Love and solidarity. Amy
This is what the post looked like on Instagram at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Mon Feb 19 17:22:40 2024 UTC)
Schumer's health
Nowhere in the social media post did Schumer say she developed VAIDS, nor did she link her health condition to COVID vaccination. Instead, Schumer said her face looks "puffier than normal" because she has endometriosis. This is how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the disease:
Endometriosis is when the kind of tissue that normally lines the uterus grows somewhere else. It can grow on the ovaries, behind the uterus, on the bowels, or on the bladder. Rarely, it grows in other parts of the body.
This 'misplaced' tissue can cause pain, infertility, and very heavy periods. The pain is usually in the abdomen, lower back, or pelvic areas. Some women have no symptoms at all, and having trouble getting pregnant may be the first sign they have endometriosis.
While Schumer described endometriosis as an "auto immune disease," health experts have yet to classify it as such. Some research (archived here) has shown a connection but not necessarily a correlation between endometriosis and autoimmune diseases.
'Vaccine acquired immunodeficiency syndrome'
The World Health Organization (WHO), a global public health agency, states that VAIDS isn't real, and COVID-19 vaccines don't cause immunodeficiency. Here's a post (archived here) from the WHO/Europe X account, addressing the topic:
✅Fact: #Vaccine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (VAIDS) doesn't exist. There's NO evidence that #COVID19 vaccines cause immunodeficiency
-- WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) April 8, 2022
⚠️Things aren't always what they seem online. Learn more about how you can protect yourself against false information 👇
The People's Voice
The People's Voice has a lengthy record of publishing false stories in the past. It describes itself as a resource "comprised of various web pages operated by Fact Checked Limited," but it has nothing to do with fact-checking.
As of this writing, its website contained a liability disclaimer, saying:
FACT CHECKED LIMITED AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND.
Read more
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims about COVID-19 vaccines can be found here.
