Elon Musk Amplifies Baseless Claim About COVID-19 Vaccine

Elon Musk this week amplified an unfounded claim, based connected a distortion of vaccine information monitoring data, that COVID-19 vaccines killed tens of thousands of radical successful Germany. The vaccines saved millions of lives worldwide during a deadly pandemic, and superior broadside effects oregon deaths from vaccination are rare.

Despite this well-established information record, Musk questioned COVID-19 vaccine information on X connected April 12 portion sharing a post from far-right Swedish influencer Peter Imanuelsen, who besides goes by PeterSweden. Musk, a erstwhile Trump advisor who is CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owns X, has antecedently amplified and interacted with Imanuelsen’s posts on multiple occasions. Musk’s station had astir 60 cardinal views arsenic of this story’s publication, and Imanuelsen’s had 64 million.

“A Pfizer insider who was erstwhile caput of toxicology successful Europe has conscionable travel retired and said thing that galore ‘conspiracy theorists’ suspected,” Imanuelsen wrote successful his April 12 post. “He estimates that 20 000 to 60 000 radical successful Germany person died from the c*vid vaccine,” helium continued, adding that it “should beryllium header quality EVERYWHERE.”

There is nary grounds this ample fig of deaths occurred. Nor did COVID-19 vaccines origin wide deaths successful general, arsenic we person written multiple times.

Imanuelsen’s station was based on March 19 testimony astatine a German parliamentary proceeding from Dr. Helmut Sterz, a toxicologist and veterinarian who reported formerly moving for Pfizer. Sterz, who appeared astatine the invitation of a far-right party, baselessly claimed that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine killed 60,000 radical successful Germany. But Sterz arrived astatine this fig by distorting German vaccine information monitoring data, pursuing logic also common to anti-vaccine activists in the U.S. who person misused akin passive surveillance data. (Imanuelsen explained connected X that Sterz had besides fixed the 20,000 fig aft the hearing, but we were incapable to find these further comments.)

Dr. Mahmoud Zureik, a prof of epidemiology and nationalist wellness astatine University of Paris-Saclay successful France, told america via email that Sterz’s assertion “confuses coincidence with causation, misuses passive surveillance data, and is not supported by the champion disposable technological evidence.” Sterz counted deaths reported aft vaccination that were not needfully related to the vaccines and past multiplied them by 30 to purportedly relationship for underreporting. Zureik called the usage of this origin of 30 “arbitrary.” Zureik is manager of EPI-PHARE, a technological enactment created by French wellness authorities to independently counsel connected wellness merchandise safety.

Zureik added that the thought that COVID-19 vaccines person caused ample numbers of deaths is inconsistent with the technological literature. “More broadly, ample epidemiologic studies person not shown an excess hazard of wide mortality aft COVID-19 mRNA vaccination,” helium said. 

Pfizer spokesperson Andrew Widger told america via email that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine “continues to show a favourable information and efficacy illustration supported by extended real-world grounds arsenic good arsenic by clinical, non-clinical, pharmacovigilance, and manufacturing data.“

A LinkedIn profile lists Sterz arsenic having held a enactment relation astatine a Pfizer probe halfway successful France from 2001 to 2009. He is author of a 2025 publication astir COVID-19 whose rubric translates to “The Vaccination Mafia,” and whose subheading describes him arsenic Pfizer’s erstwhile main toxicologist. He does not appear to have any caller technological publications.

Pfizer arsenic a argumentation doesn’t “provide details regarding individuals,” the company’s spokesperson said, “but I tin corroborate the idiosyncratic you notation was not moving astatine Pfizer during the pandemic oregon during the decennary preceding it, and consequently had nary engagement successful the improvement of the COVID-19 vaccine. I would question truthful whether helium could beryllium described arsenic an ‘insider.’” 

Misuse of German Vaccine Safety Surveillance Data

In the U.S., anti-vaccine activists often distort information from the ​​government-run Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, oregon VAERS, which collects unverified reports of wellness problems pursuing vaccination successful bid to place imaginable information signals. Sterz’s unfounded assertion astir vaccine deaths successful Germany relies connected misuse of a akin authorities strategy successful Germany, tally by the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which we person besides written astir before.

During his testimony, Sterz said that PEI had gotten 2,133 reports of decease aft vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine. There were so 2,133 reports of deaths pursuing vaccination with the archetypal Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine done the extremity of 2024, according to a 2024 PEI report.

However, Zureik said that a decease oregon different occupation happening aft vaccination “is not, by itself, grounds that the vaccine caused the event,” explaining that systems specified arsenic the PEI 1 “are designed to observe signals that past needfully necessitate objective and epidemiological assessment.”

“It is not valid to presume the 2000 reported deaths were caused by vaccines, overmuch little to presume that determination were 30x this fig to get astatine the 60k fig the idiosyncratic claims,” Jeffrey S. Morris, manager of the part of biostatistics astatine the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told america via email. Morris wrote a December 2025 Annenberg Public Policy Center white paper connected vaccine information monitoring, including a conception explaining however VAERS functions and is distorted. (FactCheck.org is simply a task of APPC.)

People dice connected a regular basis, including 1 cardinal per twelvemonth successful Germany, Morris and Zureik some noted. “Therefore, erstwhile tens of millions of radical are vaccinated, immoderate deaths volition inevitably hap successful the days, weeks oregon months pursuing vaccination purely by coincidence, including deaths that would besides person occurred successful the lack of vaccination,” Zureik said.

The PEI study besides said that the occurrence of deaths oregon different events adjacent the clip of vaccination “does not automatically bespeak that determination is simply a causal relationship” betwixt the two, explaining that successful galore cases, “the lawsuit tin beryllium explained by different factors, specified arsenic pre-existing conditions, comorbidities, oregon concomitant medications.” In different cases, determination is constricted accusation available. Of the 2,133 reports of deaths aft receiving the archetypal Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, PEI assessed 28 arsenic having a “possible oregon probable” causal narration with vaccination. The study said much than 138 cardinal doses of the vaccine had been given.

Unsupported Use of ‘Underreporting Factor‘

Sterz again followed a familiar pattern in multiplying an already-inflated fig of deaths alleged to person been caused by COVID-19 vaccination by an “underreporting factor” of 30, which helium said was utilized successful the U.S.

American anti-vaccine advocates so multiply purported vaccine deaths oregon vaccine broadside effects by assorted factors, with Dr. Peter McCullough, for instance, often mentioning an underreporting factor of 30. McCullough is simply a cardiologist with a agelong history of spreading incorrect accusation astir vaccines.

But arsenic we person written before, the attack of applying an underreporting origin to reports from VAERS to place the “true” complaint of a occupation is flawed. There is some underreporting and overreporting of events, and it’s not straightforward to place a circumstantial underreporting rate, which volition alteration depending connected what events idiosyncratic is looking astatine and the discourse successful which a vaccine was given.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zureik explained, it’s imaginable that determination was successful information “overreporting driven by what is known arsenic notoriety bias (or stimulated reporting).” In different words, the wide attraction to COVID-19 vaccination and imaginable broadside effects whitethorn person led radical to beryllium much apt to study deaths that happened adjacent the clip of vaccination, careless of immoderate causal relationship. 

“Therefore, applying a fixed ‘underreporting factor’ is not lone unsupported but besides ignores the anticipation of reporting ostentation successful this context,” Zureik said.

Reassuring Data connected COVID-19 Vaccine Safety

Regardless, determination are different types of studies utilized to further analyse immoderate information signals recovered by surveillance systems similar VAERS oregon the PEI system, Morris said. These sorts of studies looked astatine deaths aft COVID-19 vaccination and person shown “no grounds of accrued hazard of death,” helium said.

In the U.S., a 2022 study of astir 7 cardinal radical from the Vaccine Safety Datalink monitoring strategy recovered that radical who received COVID-19 vaccines were little apt to dice than those who did not get the vaccines, aft matching radical by assorted characteristics and pursuing them implicit astatine slightest 2 months. VSD is simply a U.S. wellness attraction record-based strategy that tin beryllium utilized to travel up connected information signals identified successful VAERS. “This is acold stronger grounds than immoderate VAERs analysis,” Morris said.

Zureik and his colleagues successful France, meanwhile, looked astatine French wellness records from 28 cardinal adults property 59 and nether to analyse whether COVID-19 vaccination had immoderate relation with decease from each causes implicit a four-year period. Their study, published successful December 2025, again recovered that vaccinated radical were little apt to dice than those who were unvaccinated.

Morris explained that these studies and others from around the world don’t needfully mean that vaccination decreases hazard of decease from causes different than COVID-19, since radical who get vaccinated whitethorn person different characteristics that marque them healthier. However, the probe indicates that COVID-19 vaccines are not associated with immoderate accrued hazard of dying, contrary to claims astir large-scale lethality.

People person expressed peculiar concern astir spikes successful abrupt deaths caused by vaccination, contempt a deficiency of grounds for specified a phenomenon. This is partially based connected the existent but uncommon broadside effect of myocarditis, oregon inflammation of the heart. Some COVID-19 vaccines, including the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, caused this condition, which astir often affected teen oregon young big males aft the 2nd dose of the archetypal series. Myocarditis aft COVID-19 vaccination is mostly little terrible than aft corruption and resolves comparatively quickly, though it is possible that it has caused deaths successful immoderate precise tiny fig of cases, arsenic we’ve written previously.

But again, studies bash not amusement a signifier of accrued deaths successful adolescents and young adults aft vaccination, either from heart-related oregon different causes. Most recently, a March 19 Canadian study investigated whether COVID-19 vaccination successful adolescents and young adults without documented bosom illness was associated with abrupt cardiac death, which tin beryllium caused by assorted conditions, including myocarditis.

The researchers recovered that vaccinated radical were little apt to person abrupt cardiac deaths than unvaccinated people. “These findings bash not enactment the proposal that COVID-19 vaccines summation the hazard of abrupt cardiac decease successful young steadfast adults,” the authors concluded.

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