Super Bowl stirs up anti-vaccine outrage

Anti-vaccine rhetoric circulated online during the Super Bowl as vaccine opponents expressed outrage over a Pfizer ad about future cancer treatments that aired during the game. Some posts criticized one of the star players for his appearance in a previous Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine ad, while others accused the pharmaceutical giant of promoting drugs to treat cancers they claim were caused by their vaccine.

Risk level: Medium

Recommendation: False claims linking COVID-19 vaccines to cancer may discourage patients from getting the updated COVID-19 vaccine. Talking points may emphasize that over three years of scientific research and rigorous safety monitoring show no association between any COVID-19 vaccine and cancer diagnosis, progression, recurrence, or death. The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, because staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccination prevents severe illness, hospitalization, death, and long COVID.