Viral quote uses baseless claim about vaccines to raise money
A viral quote attributed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who frequently posts anti-vaccine information, makes an entirely baseless and dangerous claim as a fundraising ploy. Let’s take a look at the facts.
NewsLit takeaway
Anti-vaccine rhetoric is highly emotional and often exploits parents’ love and concern for their children’s well-being to plant a seed of doubt about the safety of vaccines. This particular quote doesn’t identify the source of the “CDC data” it purports to cite. However, many false anti-vaccination claims are extrapolated from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System — or VAERS — database, an open portal that allows anyone to self-report “possible health problems” experienced after a vaccine, even minor ones such as soreness at the injection site. All evidence continues to show that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective.
- “CDC did not say shots are riskier for children than Covid-19” (Claire Savage, AFP Fact Check).