Colin Powell’s death doesn’t raise new concerns about vaccine effectiveness
A Fox News anchor falsely claimed in a tweet that Colin Powell’s death “raises new concerns about how effective vaccines are long-term.” But that’s not true. Let’s take a look at the facts.
Colin Powell’s death from a breakthrough case of COVID-19 does not raise new concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines.
Fox News anchor John Roberts made this claim in an Oct. 18 tweet he later deleted.
Roberts posted a second series of tweets explaining the deletion, but later deleted those as well.
Fully vaccinated people make up “far less than 1% of COVID deaths” but those with underlying medical conditions and those who are immunocompromised have an increased risk of developing severe and fatal breakthrough cases of COVID-19.
Powell was immunocompromised and had multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, and Parkinson’s disease.
Related:
- “Covering Colin Powell’s death — and controversy generated by one Fox News personality”(Tom Jones, Poynter).
- “Vaccines, war, and the death of Colin Powell” (Jon Allsop, Columbia Journalism Review).
NewsLit takeaway
Roberts’ initial tweet was posted soon after news broke of Powell’s death, which suggests it may have been a knee-jerk reaction rather than a verified claim. In the wake of major news events, it’s best to wait until all details are available before drawing conclusions and to rely on high-quality news coverage that cites experts on the topic. Some news organizations also made missteps in their early coverage of Powell’s death by failing to mention that he was immunocompromised in their initial headlines.
Featured Fact-Checks
- “What Colin Powell’s death tells us — and doesn’t — about COVID-19 and vaccines”(Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times).
- “Expert helps untangle vaccine misinformation that has followed Colin Powell's death”(Sarah McCammon and Lauren Hodges, NPR).
- “Why vaccinated people dying from Covid-19 doesn't mean the vaccines are ineffective” (Katia Hetter, CNN).
- “High-profile and fully vaccinated but immunocompromised: Colin Powell’s death wrongly seized upon to undermine utility of coronavirus vaccines” (Washington Post, Annie Linskey).