A Facebook video falsely claimed that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had fatal or permanent elimination of side effects in 3% of people who received a vaccine for COVID-19.
The 2-minute video was posted on January 4 and has since been shared 1,800 times in one post. A caption above the video reads: ‘THE CEO OF THE POPULAR’ V ‘JUST SOLD ALL HIS STOCK! AFTER THE CDC REPORTED, THE REVERSE DAMAGE IT CHANGED THE PEOPLE !! As many as 3% of all people who receive it will be permanently eliminated if it is not dead! THIS IS 3 IN EVERY 100 PEOPLE !!! ”(Here).
The findings from the CDC report were misinterpreted and the sale of stock by the CEO of a vaccine manufacturer took place a month before the reference to the report.
The video begins with the speaker showing a document produced by the CDC entitled: “Anaphylaxis after m-RNA COVID-19 vaccine reception”. He guides viewers through a table, which he says shows that out of 112,807 people who received the first dose, ‘3,150 of them have a detrimental effect on health … of more than 110,000 people, an average of 3,000 people, it is vaccinated 3% of it, is unable to perform normal daily activities, can not work, needs care of a doctor or medical professional. ”
This is a misinterpretation of the figures. The relevant CDC report from 19 December 2020 (here, slide 6), refers to data consistent with the figures reported by V-safe (here), a tool on smartphones that uses text messaging and web recordings to personalize offers health examinations after vaccination of COVID-19.
The table shows that 112,807 people who received one dose of coronavirus vaccine were registered with V-safe by 18 December 2020. It also shows that on December 18, 3,150 consequences for health impact were reported by V-safe. events ”is defined by the CDC as“ unable to perform normal daily activities, unable to work, required care of physician or health care professional ”.
The figure of 112,807 was not the total number of vaccine recipients in the US, but the number of “people who were registered with V-safe and received the first dose of the vaccine”, said Martha Sharan, a spokesperson for the CDC. Reuters said. via email.
According to the CDC report, 272,001 doses of the vaccine were administered in the US by December 19 (here, disc # 4). This will change the percentage of total “health impact events” to 1.1% of those vaccinated when the information was published.
This is not the case because the number of recorded “health impact events” – side effects – is not equal to the number of people who have developed side effects. Pfizer’s spokesman explained that a person using V-safe can ‘mark all the subjects’ (unable to perform normal daily activities, unable to work, and / or doctor or health worker), and therefore ‘3 150 reports do not necessarily indicate 3 150 people’.
For example, someone who needs ‘care from a doctor or health care professional’ would also probably not ‘work’ or ‘perform normal daily activities’.
It is also inaccurate to claim that the “health impact events” recorded by the CDC were tantamount to “irreversible damage”, leaving people “permanently disabled, if not dead”, as claimed in the video caption.
Although Pfizer’s spokeswoman did not specify the symptoms reported by the V-safe registrants or had a full outline of the 3,150 consequences for the health impact, she said: ‘We expect someone to be vaccinated. effects can have, which are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they will disappear within a few days. ‘
According to the CDC here, common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination include pain and swelling at the injection site, as well as fever, chills, fatigue, and headaches.
The headline’s ‘irreversible damage’ and ‘disability’ may be related to a Reuters article that used the same CDC report to claim that 3 150 people were ‘paralyzed’ after receiving the vaccine ( here).
After making this misleading statement, the video claims that: “The CEO of Pfizer, on the same day as the CDC announced that 3,000 people out of 113,000 would suffer irreversible damage from the vaccine, he claimed 62% of the vaccine sells the Pfizer stock. You do not sell 62% unless you know your business is going to tank. “
This is untrue: the shares were sold by Pfizer’s CEO a month before the CDC report.
As supporting evidence, the speaker cited an article in the Canadian newspaper Financial Post with the headline: “Why the CEO of Pfizer sells 62% of his stock on the same day as the vaccination of the vaccine seems bad”. The article was originally published in the Financial Times with another headline (here) on November 13, 2020 (here).
The ‘vaccine announcement’ refers to Pfizer’s statement in November that the vaccine was more than 90% effective, based on initial trial results. This information increased his world stock and on the same day, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sold $ 5.56 million worth of shares, according to a Reuters report on November 11, 2020 (here).
Pfizer said: ‘The sale of these shares is part of dr. Bourla’s personal financial planning and a predetermined plan (10b5-1), which, according to SEC rules, enables large shareholders and insiders of listed corporations to conduct a predetermined trade. number of shares at a predetermined time. ”
The sales raised eyebrows – but that was because Pfizer’s inventory was high following news of the vaccine’s effectiveness, and not because it followed negative information about side effects.
VERDICT
Untrue. A CDC report did not find that 3% of U.S. vaccine recipients have ‘irreversible damage’. The study, published in December, recorded ‘3,150 health impact events’ out of 112,807 people registered with V-safe and receiving the vaccine. This was not the total number of people vaccinated in the US at that time, nor was it the number of people who had side effects, as numerous “health impact events” were likely reported by the same people. Albert Bourla sold his Pfizer shares a month before the CDC report was published.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.