Pfizer is Authorized for Emergency Use
The Claim
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is an experimental vaccine.
Emerging story
On December 14, 2020 James Todaro posted that “For anyone considering the Pfizer vaccine, know that you are getting an EXPERIMENTAL vaccine.”
Todaro went on to say that people who receive the Pfizer vaccine will be “participating in a study looking for adverse effects.” He included a screenshot from Pfizer’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), written by the FDA. Todaro’s tweet garnered thousands of likes and retweets.
The responses to Todaro’s tweet have been mixed. Some are urging people to think long and hard about getting the vaccine.
Other Twitter users are criticizing Todaro for tweeting this, claiming that it is “misleading and dangerous."
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be misleading. This Tweet implies that it could be safer to not receive a vaccination from Pfizer if you are under 50.
Pfizer has completed 3 stages of clinical trials. After the trials have collected “sufficient data” the FDA can authorize emergency use of the vaccine if “the known and potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks.” The FDA has done this.
Most experts agree that it is a safer option to take this vaccine rather than risk natural COVID-19 infection.
According to the New York Times, “one in three people who recover from COVID have chronic complaints, including exhaustion and a racing heart, for months afterward. This includes people under 35 with no previous health conditions.”
Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health explains: “COVID vaccines, in contrast, carry little known risk. They have been tested in tens of thousands of people with no serious side effects — at least so far. Once you start vaccinating millions, you might find very, very rare events. But we have to know that they are very, very rare and much more rare than the adverse events associated with natural infection.”
