On or about January 15, 2021, RFK Jr posted a link on his Facebook page to a CHD article entitled: Tip of the Iceberg? Thousands of COVID Vaccine Injuries and 13 U.S. Deaths Reported in December Alone (Figure 1). Science Feedback checked information in the article, an ‘independent third-party fact checker’ working with Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram, among other platforms).

On or about February 14, 2021, RFK Jr posted a link on his Facebook page to a CHD article entitled “653 Deaths + 12,044 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show” (Figure 2). Information from the CHD article above citing VAERS data (see Claim page: Thousands of injuries and reported following COVID vaccine & CHD, 210114, Figure 1) was checked by Science Feedback.

Science Feedback’s fact-check verdict: Unsupported (210119)

Facebook action: Partly false information (”Thousands of COVID…”; 210115 [perma]) and Missing context (”653 Deaths…”; 210214 [perma])¹

Verdict detail: “Inadequate support: The 3,916 adverse events attributed to the COVID-19 vaccines are based on the number of reports made in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). However, while VAERS records adverse events after vaccination, reports don’t demonstrate causal relationships between a vaccine and adverse events.

“Misleading: The article cites instances of adverse events like Bell’s palsy and death occurring post-vaccination as “vaccine injuries,” implying that the COVID-19 vaccines caused these events (the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy). However, simply because an event occurred after vaccination does not mean that vaccination caused the event. Furthermore, some of the events cited were unrelated to the vaccine or were of dubious origin” (Science Feedback, 210119).

Context: Science Feedback deemed the claim “unsupported,” asserting in their Key Takeaway that “VAERS data only tells us that an adverse event might have occurred after vaccination; on its own it cannot prove that vaccines caused the adverse event” (Figure 3).

Facebook added the following warning label to the “Thousands of COVID…” Facebook post: “Partly false information. Checked by independent fact-checkers” (Figure 4).

Facebook added the following warning label to the “653 Deaths…” Facebook post: “Missing context. Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people” (Figure 5).

[1] The “Disinformation Dozen” report cites these Facebook posts as examples of RFK Jr violating Facebook’s terms of service: “Here and here, Kennedy promotes misinformation linking Covid vaccines to deaths.”

Supported: The 3,916 adverse events and 13 deaths reported to VAERS following COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020 — the contested claim in CHD’s January 14, 2021 article — is supported (based on a check using MedAlerts). The 12,044 adverse events and 653 deaths reported to VAERS following COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020, as reported in CHD’s February 12, 2021 article, are also supported.

Misleading: The title of CHD’s January 14, 2021 article, “Tip of the Iceberg? Thousands of COVID Vaccine Injuries and 13 U.S. Deaths Reported in December Alone” [my emphasis] is misleading because “Vaccine Injuries” inappropriately implies causation.

CHD appears to have corrected this use of causal language in its February 12, 2021 article, including its title, “653 Deaths + 12,044 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show” [my emphasis], implying an association.

NB: These types of observations are essential to discovery and a functioning science. Labeling such associations as “unsupported” (Science Feedback’s go-to) or “false information” (see: Facebook) is deceptive and dangerous. Indeed, the point of a program like VAERS, if it were to function properly, is “detecting unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse event reporting that might indicate a possible safety problem with a vaccine,” as stated on their website (HHS). Assuming it works, it can potentially reveal information that puts millions of individuals out of harm’s way.

Assessment highlights:

• CHD’s January 14, 2021 (210114) and February 12, 2021 article (210212) provide the number of adverse events and deaths that were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020.
• The adverse events and deaths reported to VAERS following COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020 are directionally accurate, and the contested claim is supported.
• The title of CHD’s January 14, 2021 article, “Tip of the Iceberg? Thousands of COVID Vaccine Injuries and 13 U.S. Deaths Reported in December Alone” [my emphasis] is misleading because “Vaccine Injuries” inappropriately implies causation. CHD appears to have corrected this and refrains from using causal language in its February 12, 2021 article, and including its title, “653 Deaths + 12,044 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show” [my emphasis], implying an association.

Highlights:

• As justification for its “unsupported” verdict, Science Feedback’s fact-check asserts that VAERS reports don’t demonstrate causal relationships between a vaccine and adverse events (Figure 3). However, this assertion does not render the 3,916 adverse events and 13 deaths reported to VAERS following COVID-19 vaccination baseless.
• VAERS is “a national early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S.-licensed vaccines,” according to the VAERS About page (HHS). “VAERS is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem, but is especially useful for detecting unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse event reporting that might indicate a possible safety problem with a vaccine. This way, VAERS can provide CDC and FDA with valuable information that additional work and evaluation is necessary to further assess a possible safety concern.”
• If VAERS follows Science Feedback’s fact-checking logic, it precludes the system from detecting any possible safety problems in vaccines. A program like VAERS aims to increase our awareness of observations that violate our expectations rather than ignore them.
• As part of its justification for labeling CHD’s January 14, 2021 article “misleading,” Science Feedback’s fact-check explains that the article cites instances of adverse events like Bell’s palsy and death occurring post-vaccination as “vaccine injuries,” implying that the COVID-19 vaccines caused these events. This assertion is sound. “Vaccine injuries” implies causation, whereas ‘injuries reported following vaccination’ implies an association.
  • CHD appears to have corrected this and refrains from using causal language in its February 12, 2021 article, for example:
    • “653 Deaths + 12,044 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show,” and
    • “…653 deaths — a subset of 12,697 total adverse events — had been reported to the [CDC’s] [VAERS] following COVID-19 vaccinations”