Scare tactics used to sow doubt about vaccine ingredients

This week, the editor of a new anti-vaccine book targets maternal COVID-19 vaccine safety and rising whooping cough cases fuel anti-immigration narratives. Regional vaccine conversations were dominated by bird flu and myths about sudden infant death syndrome.

This week, vaccine opponents returned to classic anti-vaccine tactics to promote hesitancy. Popular social media posts warned of the alleged dangers of adjuvants in routine vaccines, and an anti-vaccine book resurfaced debunked claims about the safety of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Meanwhile, false claims and conspiracy theories are circulating about rising whooping cough cases in the United States. 

Regionally, rising bird flu cases, an alleged flu shot mixup, and myths about childhood vaccines and sudden infant death syndrome dominated regional vaccine conversations.

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What’s trending nationally in vaccine conversation:

Several social media posts trending this week discussed vaccine adjuvants. The posts include images of vaccine ingredients and debunked claims about their supposed risks. Posts focused on aluminum, formaldehyde, thimerosal, and monosodium glutamate in various routine vaccines. One post with over 40,000 engagements claimed that aluminum in vaccines crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes damage and declared that all vaccines are unsafe because of adjuvants. Other posts claimed that COVID-19 vaccines contain dangerous levels of arsenic and adjuvants that allow contaminant DNA to integrate with recipient DNA and cause cancer.

On October 14, prominent anti-vaccine figures released a book about the so-called “Pfizer papers,” claiming to expose clinical trial data that show the company’s COVID-19 vaccine was “neither safe nor effective.” The book was edited by a vaccine conspiracist who has promoted a host of false claims about the safety of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, including repeating the debunked myth that 80 percent of pregnant people in the clinical trial had miscarriages. Several social media posts claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine was not sufficiently tested in pregnant people, while others cited a lawsuit launched by Kansas’ attorney general that claims that Pfizer “misled the public” by saying the vaccine was safe during pregnancy. The publication and promotion of an anti-vaccine book that advances myths about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy will likely keep these false claims in the public eye for some time.

As of October 12, U.S. cases of pertussis (also called whooping cough) are at the highest level in a decade, with over 18,000 cases recorded so far this year. Popular social media posts blamed the increase on immigrant populations and “open borders,” a myth that circulated after a whooping cough outbreak in England earlier this year. Some posts circulated the conspiracy theory that the media is only covering whooping cough cases to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election, while others claim that natural immunity is superior to pertussis vaccination. Several social media users attributed the rise in cases to the anti-vaccine movement and claimed that COVID-19 infections may be weakening immune systems and making people more susceptible to disease.

Read the fact checks: 

• CHOP: Types of Vaccine Ingredients
• Very Well Health: Whooping Cough Cases Surge Across the U.S.: What You Need to Know
• Reuters: Data from a study does not conclude that over 80% of pregnancies end in miscarriage after COVID-19 vaccinations; figures taken out of context  

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What’s happening in the Northeast:

A “medical freedom” group that previously circulated an unverified story of older adults being vaccinated without informed consent is now claiming without evidence that a “friend” was given a COVID-19 vaccine when they went to get a flu shot. The post garnered nearly 10,000 engagements, including responses questioning why anyone would get vaccinated and stating they don’t trust COVID-19 vaccines or any new vaccine. Others argued that drugstore pharmacies shouldn’t be allowed to administer vaccines.

What’s happening in the South:

A social media user in Minnesota noted that less than 9 percent of state residents are up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, citing data from the Minnesota Department of Health. The DOH defines “up to date” as receiving the recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses based on eligibility, including at least one dose of the 2024-2025 vaccine for those aged 5 and older. A majority of responses to the post celebrated the low vaccine uptake, with many expressing satisfaction at the “positive news.” Some posts claimed without evidence that vaccinated people are “showing up in ERs” with health issues like COVID-19-like symptoms and shingles. 

What’s happening in the Midwest:

A Texas death row inmate who was convicted of his young daughter’s death by shaken baby syndrome—a controversial and widely disputed diagnosis—has gained the attention of vaccine opponents. In a viral social media post, a popular anti-vaccine account claimed with no evidence that the child’s death was due to vaccine-related SIDS. The post falsely claims that childhood vaccines are linked to SIDS, a myth that has been repeatedly disproven.

What’s happening in the West:

The CDC and California Department of Health confirmed new human bird flu cases in the last week, with the total now at 13. All of the cases were in dairy workers who had close contact with infected cattle. Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Health reported four suspected cases in poultry workers. As news of the cases circulated on social media, some social media users claimed that bird flu is a “plandemic” or a conspiracy to push new vaccines.

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Recommendations for public health professionals

Each week the Infodemiology.com team will provide messaging recommendations in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. These helpful tips can be used when creating content, updating web pages and FAQs, and to inform strategy for messaging about vaccines. 

False and misleading claims about the alleged toxicity of vaccine ingredients are widespread. Highlighting unfamiliar or scary-sounding ingredients is a common anti-vaccine tactic to make people question vaccine safety and promote vaccine hesitancy. Prebunking messaging may emphasize that every vaccine ingredient is carefully tested for safety and there are no toxic ingredients in vaccines. Debunking messaging may explain that all vaccines contain adjuvants, which are ingredients that boost the effectiveness of the vaccine. These adjuvants are completely safe in vaccines due to their low dose and their combination with other vaccine ingredients. 

Concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy may cause people to delay or refuse vaccination. Debunking messaging may also emphasize that the claim that 80 percent of pregnancies in the Pfizer COVID-19 clinical trial ended in miscarriage is false and based on a misrepresentation of preliminary data. The trial data showed that 10.4 percent of the pregnancies in the trial ended in miscarriage, well within the normal miscarriage rate of 10 to 20 percent. Messaging may also explain that dozens of studies worldwide have consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccination does not negatively impact pregnancy.

Attempts to downplay the severity of whooping cough or sow distrust about the safety and effectiveness of the pertussis vaccine may discourage parents from vaccinating their children. Talking points may explain that whooping cough is a highly contagious and potentially serious disease, especially in babies and young children who can develop pneumonia, seizures, and brain damage. Messaging may emphasize that whooping cough spreads when immunization is low. The pertussis vaccine is 98 percent effective, but its effectiveness wanes over time. Thus, boosters are recommended every 10 years for adolescents and adults.

Interested in recommendations tailored to health care providers? Click here.