The Claim:
An interview of RFK Jr. on a podcast claimed that the COVID vaccine was approved under false pretenses or claims that it was 100% effective. The explanation about how this claim was made has to do with the number of COVID deaths during a placebo-controlled trial; twice as many people died from COVID who were given the placebo than were given the vaccine, thus allegedly leading pharmaceutical companies to claim the vaccine was 100% effective.
The Facts:
There are several problems with this statement from RFK Jr. First, his math is off, given that 2 is 200% –not 100%– of 1.
More importantly, the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in Dec 2020 was clear about the available effectiveness data, where it was specified that the vaccine was 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease. Neither in the EUA authorization nor the final authorization has it ever been claimed that the vaccine was 100% effective. A 100% effective vaccine would entirely eliminate the possibility of contracting a disease–something no vaccine claims to do.
Another issue with the claim is that the NTV (the number needed to be vaccinated to save one life) should have been given. This claim is based on the assumption that the only COVID endpoint of note is death.
Not only can COVID itself be debilitating and therefore worthy of prevention on its own, but when the vaccines were first authorized under EUA, the hospital systems were overwhelmed with COVID cases, and excess deaths occurred even in non-COVID situations due to the healthcare crisis. Preventing severe illness that leads to hospitalization and death saves people and our healthcare systems.
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.
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