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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.

13,677 published reviews in this topic

FactCheck.orgHealth & medicine

"Denmark is banning the COVID shot for anyone under the age of 50 because it is not safe."

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim came from a video clip posted on Facebook by conservative talk-show host Clay Travis. The review says Travis argued that Denmark was banning COVID-19 shots for people under 50 because the shots were unsafe, citing a Sept. 14 Substack post by Alex Berenson. But Denmark’s fall 2022 program concerned booster recommendations and eligibility, not a safety-based ban on vaccination for everyone under 50. The review describes Denmark’s plan, announced Sept. 13, as focused on people most vulnerable to severe illness, hospitalization and death. The Danish Health Authority offered boosters to everyone aged 50 and older, while also making them available to certain people under 50—including those with qualifying health conditions, health- or eldercare workers, relatives of high-risk people, and pregnant women. The authority’s stated aim was to protect those at highest risk and avoid overburdening hospitals. The review reports that Danish Health Authority spokeswoman Tina Gustavsen said people under 50 were expected to have substantial immunity from prior infection and vaccination, and that few in that age group were at risk of severe disease. The policy therefore did not recommend vaccination to under-18s as a group, while allowing vaccination for children and young people at increased risk after individual assessment. Gustavsen also said primary vaccination remained available to people under 50. The distinction between a targeted booster campaign and access to vaccination is central: the evidence described in the review contradicts the claim that Denmark barred under-50s because the shots were unsafe.