A U.S. early-warning system for detecting vaccine side effects is being weaponized by the global anti-vaccination movement.
The Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS), run by the Centers for Disease Control, has become the launching pad for conspiracy theories that claim COVID-19 vaccines have caused “thousands” of deaths and serious illnesses.
“COVID19 VACCINES DEATH TOLL CLIMBING!!!” screams the headline on one viral Facebook video, that claims the CDC database shows a list of “all the people who have died from vaccines.”
There’s just one problem: anyone can make a claim of severe reaction, or death, and have their report included in the CDC’s publicly accessible VAERS database. No one checks if those claims are true.