Social media users are sharing a meme about the COVID-19 vaccine that contains a quote about recipients of out-of-context care homes.
The message was uploaded on December 8 (here) and contains an image of a sick, elderly person with a remark attributed to Dr Kelly Moore, co-director of the Immunization Action Coalition: ‘One of the things we want to ensure that people understand that they should not worry unnecessarily if, after we start vaccinating, there are reports that someone or multiple people die within a day or two after their vaccination who are residents of a long-term care facility.
Some interpreted the meme as evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine would harm the elderly and left comments such as: ‘They wanted to get rid of our OAPs before the virus started. !!! No vaccination for me and mine !! And “Murder! Clear and simple! ”.
The quote lacks an important context. Moore explained how deaths among residents of care homes that received the vaccine were not related to their vaccination.
The comment was first published on December 4 as part of a CNN story in which a vote on doctors at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on whether long-term care residents are one of the first to receive COVID has, been published. 19 vaccine (here).
Moore explained to CNN: “Americans need to understand that deaths can occur that are not necessarily related to the vaccine.”
She then quotes in the meme: ‘One of the things we want to ensure people understand is that they should not be unnecessarily frightened when there are reports that someone or more people die within a day or two of their vaccination that residents of a long-term care institution. ”
The quote ended here in the meme, but Moore went on to say, “This is what we would normally expect, because people often die in nursing homes.” This additional remark clarifies the significance of Moore: non-COVID-19 vaccine deaths can be expected in long-term care patients.
The immunization action coalition is supporting frontline workers who will administer COVID-19 vaccinations.
VERDICT
Misleading due to missing context. This quote does not capture the point the speaker is making. The doctor explained that deaths among residents of old age homes occur frequently and have nothing to do with them being vaccinated against COVID-19.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.