Viral clip of CDC vaccine safety director shared out of context

A video clip claiming to point out a CDC government admitting the COVID-19 vaccine causes debilitating sicknesses has gone viral on-line. 

The video clip comes from the Jan. 26 Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) assembly on vaccine safety. VRBPAC meets yearly to evaluate and consider knowledge regarding the safety, effectiveness, and applicable use of vaccines and associated organic merchandise that the Food and Drug Administration regulates. 

One tweet with the video clip says: “JUST IN: As Today’s VRBPAC Meeting Ended, CDC Dep. Dir. Tom Shimabukuro Admits COVID Vaccines Are Causing ‘Debilitating Illnesses.’”

In the video clip, Shimabukuro says, “We are conscious of these experiences of individuals experiencing long-lasting well being issues following COVID vaccination.” The video clip has greater than 930,000 views and has additionally been shared on Instagram and TikTok. 

Did CDC vaccine safety director Tom Shimabukuro admit COVID-19 vaccines trigger debilitating sicknesses?

No, Shimabukuro didn’t say the COVID-19 vaccine causes debilitating sicknesses, as a viral clip claims. He was speaking about anecdotal experiences of sicknesses submitted to a CDC database, not sicknesses confirmed to be attributable to the vaccine. 

Tom Shimabukuro, MD, is the director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office. During the Jan. 26 meeting, he did use the phrase “debilitating illnesses” – however he wasn’t saying such sicknesses are a confirmed facet impact of COVID-19 vaccines. 

The remark that’s being taken out of context was about experiences of sicknesses that may be submitted by anybody, with out proof, which can be tracked by the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). The database is used for recording attainable vaccine uncomfortable side effects. 

The VAERS website says any report submitted to the database is “not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.” 

A disclaimer on the VAERS website warns submissions “may include incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental and unverified information.”

In an e mail to VERIFY, the CDC mentioned the company is conscious of some experiences of long-term sicknesses which have been submitted to VAERS after immunization, however these accounts are “variable and no specific medical cause for symptoms has been found.” 

“Currently, there are no epidemiologic [scientific] data from safety monitoring to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are causing these types of health problems,” the CDC instructed VERIFY. 

During the assembly, Shimabukuro mentioned the identical factor when he was describing what VAERS does and the way the database accepts knowledge from anybody after committee member Hayley Gans, MD, requested him how the CDC has been monitoring vaccine results thus far. 

His full reply in regards to the VAERS system may be learn right here, in italics: 

“That is a spontaneous reporting system and anybody can report – a affected person, a father or mother, a healthcare supplier. And we settle for all these experiences with out judging the medical seriousness or how believable the opposed occasion could also be with respect to causation. 

So we do produce other programs to watch outcomes past the speedy cycle evaluation outcomes that had been offered earlier at present. At CDC we even have a bunch known as the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project which does detailed medical case consultations on the request of healthcare suppliers. 

[Viral clip starts here.]

So we take vaccine safety very significantly. 

With respect to experiences of individuals experiencing debilitating sicknesses, we’re conscious of these experiences of individuals experiencing long-lasting well being issues relating to COVID vaccination. In some instances, the medical presentation of individuals struggling these well being issues is variable. And no particular medical trigger for the signs have been discovered. 

We perceive that sickness is disruptive and tense, particularly beneath these circumstances. And we acknowledge these well being issues have considerably impacted the standard of life for individuals. And have additionally affected these round them. And we hope for enchancment and restoration. And we’ll proceed to watch the safety of these vaccines and work with companions to higher perceive these varieties of opposed occasions.” 

These feedback about VAERS had been half of a broader discussion about methods the FDA may simplify how the COVID-19 vaccines are administered, and if the immunization schedule and dosage ought to be modified for sure high-risk individuals.

The World Health Organization says there are strict precautions in place to assist make sure the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines. Like any vaccine, COVID-19 vaccines may cause uncomfortable side effects, most of that are gentle or reasonable and go away inside just a few days on their very own.

“Experiencing side effects after getting vaccinated means the vaccine is working and your immune system is responding as it should. Vaccines are safe, and getting vaccinated will help protect you against COVID-19,” the WHO says. 

According to the CDC, as of Jan. 30, no change is recommended in COVID-19 vaccination practice.