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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Health & medicine fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

13,673 published reviews in this topic

APA - Austria Presse AgenturHealth & medicine

Die Haltbarkeit des Covid-Impfstoffes Comirnaty ist still und heimlich verlängert worden. Das ist bedenklich.

Publisher’s rating: Die Verlängerung der Haltbarkeit bei Comirnaty erfolgte bereits im September und wurde öffentlich kommuniziert. Laut Bundesamt für Sicherheit im Gesundheitswesen (BASG) handelt es sich um einen Routinevorgang, wie er öfters vorkommt. Bei Lebensmittelskandalen wurden relevante Haltbarkeitsrichtlinien ignoriert, während in diesem Fall die Gültigkeit der Haltbarkeit des Impfstoffes selbst neu evaluiert worden ist.

The allegation was that Comirnaty’s shelf life had been extended “quietly and secretly,” supposedly lost amid Austria’s lockdown and vaccination-mandate news, and that the change resembled food businesses relabelling expired products. The APA review examined when the vaccine change occurred, whether it had been publicly communicated, and what the change involved. It reports that the European Medicines Agency’s list records an extension in September: for Comirnaty stored at ultralow temperatures below −60°C, the stated shelf life increased from six to nine months. The timing and communication contradict the claim’s suggestion that the change was hidden in November. The review says the BASG communicated the change on 20 September through both a brief announcement and a “Red-Hand Letter.” It also quotes the BASG describing shelf-life extensions as a routine procedure for recently authorised vaccines and other biologics: an initial period is set using available real-time stability data, and the authorisation holder may later seek an extension using additional data from later points in the studies. The food-safety comparison is not equivalent, according to the review. Its account distinguishes the vaccine’s revised shelf-life assessment from food scandals involving false labels or relabelling dates on perishable foods. The article also notes that relabelling a food’s best-before date is not inherently unsafe in every case, citing examples of German breweries extending the best-before date for keg beer after checking the product. The supplied excerpt does not provide the underlying EMA or BASG documents themselves; it reports the review’s account of those sources.

dpaHealth & medicine

Le PDG de Pfizer Albert Bourla s'est vu refuser l'entrée en Israël car il n'est pas vacciné.

Publisher’s rating: A la date à laquelle était prévu initialement ce voyage, Albert Bourla avait déjà reçu une première dose du vaccin Pfizer. Donc affirmer qu’ « il n’est pas inoculé à son propre vaccin » est faux. Et puis cette affirmation, qui est complètement sortie de son contexte, refait surface en novembre 2021 alors que cette histoire date de mars 2021.

The claim concerned Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and a planned visit to Israel, but it circulated in November 2021 as though the episode were recent. The review dates the planned trip to March 8, 2021, following an invitation from then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It says Bourla had received one dose by then, with his second dose scheduled for March 10; the review reports that he had shared this information in a Twitter photo. This evidence contradicts the claim’s assertion that he was unvaccinated, while distinguishing one dose from a completed vaccination course. The planned visit did not take place. The review describes controversy over the proposed meeting: critics saw it as a possible means of political promotion during Netanyahu’s election campaign, which highlighted Israel’s vaccination success. It says the Kadima party urged the attorney general to cancel the visit, and notes that incomplete vaccination was probably among the reasons for Bourla’s cancellation. The supplied text does not establish that Israeli authorities refused him entry, so it does not support that specific explanation for why the trip was called off. The review also explains how the claim became misleading when it resurfaced: the November post implied that the episode was current, although the planned trip dated to March. It adds that Bourla was fully vaccinated by December 2021. Separately, it notes that in a December 14, 2020 CNBC interview he had said he did not want to be vaccinated immediately because he was not in a priority group; at that early stage, doses were reserved for older and vulnerable people and healthcare workers. That earlier statement does not establish that he remained unvaccinated at the time of the planned Israel visit.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Der Europäische Gerichtshof bzw. der Europarat hat beschlossen, dass niemand gegen seinen Willen geimpft werden darf. Die Mitgliedsstaaten müssen das anwenden.

Publisher’s rating: Die Parlamentarische Versammlung des Europarats hat in der Resolution 2361/2021 vom 27. Januar 2021 festgehalten, alle Bürger müssten darüber informiert sein, dass die Corona-Impfung nicht verpflichtend sei. Resolutionen der Parlamentarischen Versammlung sind für die Mitgliedsstaaten aber nicht rechtsverbindlich. Daher kann beispielsweise Österreich unabhängig davon eine Corona-Impfpflicht beschließen.

dpaHealth & medicine

Omikronvariant verzonnen om bijwerkingen vaccin te verdoezelen, kijk maar naar dit lijstje symptomen.

Publisher’s rating: Het bericht is totale onzin. Over de omikronvariant is simpelweg nog heel weinig bekend. De meeste symptomen die in de berichten als nieuw worden bestempeld, kwamen ook bij eerdere versies van het virus al voor. Bijwerkingen als myocarditis kunnen in zeer zeldzame gevallen optreden na coronavaccinatie, maar de kans hierop na besmetting met het virus is groter. Zaken als hartaanvallen, hartinfarcten, miskramen en orgaanfalen zijn geen bekende bijwerkingen van de vaccins.

The claim arose from Facebook posts alleging that Omikron had been invented to hide vaccine side effects. The posts shared an English-language symptom list and a second list of heart conditions. The review says the symptom list appeared to come from Telegram, but its sender could not be verified; it also notes that the posts did not identify the South African epidemiologists they invoked. Those gaps mean the lists’ attribution and claims could not be treated as established evidence. [S1]