A recent presentation at the Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee in Phoenix, Arizona, is gaining attention on social media. The event featured speakers who have advocated for unproven COVID-19 treatments and promoted religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. During the presentation, one speaker falsely attributed 600,000 deaths to the...
A Mississippi group is questioning the efficacy of flu vaccines. In a social media post, the group argues that the flu virus has persisted, despite the vaccine being available for 82 years. The post suggests this means the flu vaccine is ineffective. Some social media users expressed disagreement, attributing the...
The Michigan Senate has passed Senate Bill 410. This bill would repeal Michigan's law granting drug manufacturers broad immunity from product liability claims if their products are approved by the FDA. Michigan is currently the only state with such a law, which has shielded pharmaceutical companies from liability...
A group in Massachusetts has been sharing video testimonies about alleged vaccine injuries. People in the videos state they were coerced into getting the COVID-19 vaccine and subsequently suffered severe health issues. These posts aim to raise support for the bill H734, which would ban vaccine mandates. The group also...
In a recent press release, Pfizer included investor notes containing safety recommendations for their COVID-19 vaccines. Trending social media posts are sharing a screenshot from this release, which discusses the risk of vaccine-induced myocarditis in young males. Some social media users claim Pfizer is acknowledging that the COVID-19 vaccine causes...
Prominent figures on social media are expressing concerns about the safety and efficacy of routine vaccines. A doctor who has regularly questioned vaccine safety claims there is not enough evidence to show that routine vaccines prevent disease transmission in workplaces and schools. Meanwhile, a global vaccine opponent group is calling...
In an preprint study analyzing the safety of monovalent COVID-19 vaccines in children and teenagers, the FDA identified the following safety concerns: myocarditis, pericarditis, convulsions, and seizures, although the rates of seizures were not statistically different from rates naturally occuring in the population. The FDA concluded that the known and...
On October 13, the California Governor signed Assembly Bill 659 (AB 659), which recommends that students under the age of 26 receive the HPV vaccine. Social media posts from the bill’s opponents falsely claim that the HPV vaccine is ineffective and poses serious risks to young people, causing fainting,...
In a special session, Texas senators introduced legislation prohibiting private employers from implementing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The Senate passed the bill, and it is now under review by the House Committee. Politicians in support of the bill stated it would return medical freedom to Texans. Critics of the bill stated...
Measles cases have emerged in Wisconsin and Illinois, drawing prompt responses from health officials. Some social media posts attribute the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases to vaccine opponents’ denial of widely accepted public health practices, while others attribute the outbreak to immigration. Some social media posts falsely equated measles with chickenpox,...