The Claim:
A journalist who believes he is vaccine-injured pressed Dr. Deborah Birx on the topic of government transparency and vaccine injuries. This interview is taken out of context and used by anti-vaxxers as part of their conspiracy theory about the dangers of vaccination.
The Facts:
What Dr. Birx actually said was that vaccines are incredibly effective (she’s right! The latest vaccine reduced the chance of getting COVID by 54%). She did say that while some people, possibly thousands, might have had a vaccine reaction, millions had Long-COVID.
An estimated 17 million people in the US currently have Long-COVID, and up to 43 million say they’ve had Long-COVID at one time. The latest studies, however, show that the COVID vaccine reduces the risk of Long-COVID after infection by up to 69%, which is great news for those who have been vaccinated.
There could be a very rare risk of Long-COVID-like symptoms after vaccination, though, but the number of people protected from COVID and Long-COVID enormously outweighs the number of people who may have had adverse events after the vaccine. It’s not even close.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved too since this was originally posted. Be sure to check out our most recent posts and browse the latest Just the Facts Topics for the latest.
Just the Facts Newsletter:
Correcting this week's disinformation
Sign up to get a weekly look at the latest vaccination facts as we debunk the latest false vaccination claims making the rounds on the internet.