Government reports of possible adverse reactions to vaccines have been used in Facebook posts to mislead users about the safety of vaccination.
Several Facebook posts in March presented details of a report on the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the UK Yellow Card Scheme, an initiative overseen by the Regulatory Agency (Medicines and Healthcare Products) (MHRA) which encourages people to report suspected side effects with medicines, vaccines, etc. (yellow card.mhra.gov.uk/). The post was titled: “UK Government Report. Pfizer vaccine adverse reactions, ”before mentioning numerous diseases and deaths recorded after vaccinations (here).
“What’s disturbing is that this is a weekly report,” one Facebook user wrote to close his post (here).
Although the figures in the reports are an accurate representation of a March 4 MHRA report (archived here), they have been posted out of context on social media, undermining the safety reports on the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
First, it is true to say that the summary on the yellow card scheme is published weekly; however, this does not mean that it only contains the data of the seven days prior to its release. The March 4 report, for example, covers data ranging from December 9, 2020 to February 21, 2021.
Second, the MHRA makes it clear that reports to the Yellow Card scheme have not been confirmed as adverse reactions; it is rather suspicions that could possibly be coincidental. “Some events may have happened anyway, regardless of the vaccination,” reads the March 4 report (here). “This is especially the case when millions of people are vaccinated, and especially when most of the vaccines are given to the elderly and people with underlying diseases.”
It then warns: ‘It is therefore important that the alleged ADRs described in this report are not interpreted as proven side effects of COVID-19 vaccines’.
In clinical trials, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was found to be 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 (here), with the most common side effects including headache, chills and injection site pain.
Experts believe that the jab, which uses mRNA to instruct cells to make the new protein for coronavirus peaks, is safe and effective (here). They also say that the benefits of this far outweigh the side effects currently known.
VERDICT
Missing context. Reports made to the yellow card scheme did not confirm adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines; these are rather suspicions and may still be coincidental. Experts believe that the Pfizer survey is safe and effective, and that it outweighs the possible side effects.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.