NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
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Post misrepresents Pfizer data on vaccine efficacy
CLAIM: Because 14 people in Pfizer’s placebo group died and 15 people in the vaccinated group also died, Pfizer’s own data shows its COVID-19 vaccine does not reduce the risk of dying from the disease.
THE FACTS: Those figures are irrelevant to the vaccine's efficacy, as they are simply a tally of all deaths that occurred among participants in both the placebo and vaccine groups in Pfizer’s ongoing study. Pfizer’s data shows that the vaccine is highly effective at preventing serious illness. Data from countries that have used the vaccine widely show it is also effective at preventing death from COVID-19. On July 28, Pfizer released updated data from its vaccine study showing that as of mid-March, the shots were 97% effective in preventing severe disease from COVID-19 up to 6 months later. The data also showed the shots’ efficacy against COVID-19 symptoms dropped slightly with time: it peaked at 96% efficacy 2 months after the shots were administered and fell to 84% after 6 months. The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the company’s vaccine in December 2020 after reviewing earlier data from Pfizer’s ongoing study, which includes 44,000 participants. The newly released data includes 6 months of follow-up data that is required to get full FDA approval. It is expected that in any long-term study, some participants will die for unrelated reasons. Clinical trials monitor deaths to watch for any potential red flags. Pfizer’s study states that 14 people in the placebo group and 15 people in the vaccinated...
