Florida mother calls attention to alleged COVID-19 vaccine injuries with proposed Cody’s Law

A Florida mother proposed a bill called Cody’s Law that would allow people with alleged COVID-19 vaccine injuries to receive expedited Medicaid. Last week, she and several other social media users posted about the bill across multiple platforms, tagging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and asking him to support the bill. Comments on social media posts and articles about Cody’s Law express support for the bill and concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety, with some comments claiming that COVID-19 vaccines have caused mass death.

Recommendation: Trending conversations about alleged COVID-19 vaccine injuries may undermine the public’s trust in COVID-19 vaccine safety. Messaging may emphasize that serious adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are extremely rare and that COVID-19 vaccines prevent severe illness, hospitalization, long COVID and death. If responding directly to false claims that COVID-19 vaccines have caused mass death, messaging may emphasize that the opposite is true: COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives.