MISSING CONTEXT: 2.7% of Pfizer vaccine recipients are unable to work

At a glance

• Claim: According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3,150 or 2.7% of people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were “unable to perform normal daily activities, unable to work.” 
• Rating: MISSING CONTEXT
• The facts: This figure was published by the CDC, but it only referred to those who reported side effects through the V-safe mobile app. It did not reflect the total number of vaccine recipients in the US or the total number of people who experienced side effects due to the vaccine.
• Why we fact-checked this: This was sent to Rappler through Facebook Messenger for verification. 

Complete details

A message that is being forwarded on messaging apps says that, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3,150 or 2.7% of people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were “unable to perform normal daily activities, unable to work” after vaccination.

“This is a massive 2.7% of people who can no longer work after having the Pfizer vaccine,” the message says. It includes a link to a CDC presentation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) dated December 19, 2020.

This message was sent to Rappler through Facebook Messenger for verification.

This claim is missing context. 

The ACIP presentation did say that there were 3,150 “Health Impact Events” out of a total 112,807 “registrants with recorded 1st dose” of the COVID-19 vaccine on December 18, 2020. 

However, the 112,807 figure referred to the total number of registrants to the CDC’s V-safe mobile app. Out of the total number of registrants, 3,150 people experienced health impact events, or side effects, which were described as “unable to perform normal daily activities, unable to work, required care from doctor or health care professional.”

Based on the CDC’s data, the actual total number of total new doses administered on December 18, 2020 was 416,625. 

Moreover, the 3,150 health impact events did not necessarily equal 3,150 people who experienced side effects, because the V-safe app allowed users to indicate more than one side effect. This was according to a CDC representative who spoke with Reuters. 

The CDC website says vaccination will protect against COVID-19, and adds: “You may have some side effects, which are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days.” – Vernise Tantuco/Rappler.com

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