The Claim:
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, tech millionaire Steve Kirsch argues that a Freedom of Information Act request revealed 770 safety signals the CDC had not previously disclosed, making it, he says, the most dangerous vaccine in history.
The Facts:
This claims stems from a concerned blogger who, through a FOIA request, discovered 770 safety signals. However, they don’t quite understand what a safety signal is or how they are handled.
A safety signal is not proof the vaccine is unsafe and it does not indicate there is a problem with a vaccine. Safety signals, as identified by VAERS are “unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse events” in the data, which are then further analyzed by other vaccine safety systems to determine if something should be addressed. See below for more information on VAERS.
The video also conjures up concerns about lawsuits and transparency. Anti-vaxxers use lawsuits and FOIA requests as a means to rally their followers and spread anti-vaccine narratives through misleading tactics and misrepresentation of outcomes thereby aiming to create doubt and reinforce anti-vaccine beliefs among the public.
Given the concerns about VAERS and FOIA requests, why not give them access to the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD)? While researchers can access VSD data for vaccine safety studies, the process involves detailed proposals, ethics approvals, and limitations on the data available. This structured access ensures data is used responsibly for scientific research, making it challenging for anyone with an axe to grind to access VSD data directly.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved since this was originally posted. Browse the latest information posted in Just the Facts Topics.
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