High profile CEO challenges COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy

In a series of viral posts, a high profile CEO of a social media platform challenged vaccine safety and efficacy. His first post featured media headlines showing vaccine efficacy rates dropping and pharmaceutical company profits rising. He stated that he himself was nearly hospitalized due to an alleged “vaccine injury.” In other posts, he expressed concerns about COVID-19 vaccine mandates and questioned whether the vaccine leads to worse health outcomes than the COVID-19 virus. Each of the tweets received hundreds of thousands of engagements.
Risk level: High

Recommendation: Social media posts sharing false claims about adverse reactions may deter patients from getting the updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall, especially when those posts are coming from a high profile personality. This may result in negative health outcomes. It is recommended that doctors be prepared for questions about adverse reactions to vaccines, efficacy rates, and whether the benefits of vaccination outweigh any potential risks for patients.