Cardiologist’s false claims used to promote fake COVID-19 vaccine recall, fact-checking website says

Cardiologist and author Peter A. McCullough, MD, has once again caught the attention of AFP, a fact-checking organization with offices all over the world, for speaking out about COVID-19 vaccines.

Video footage of McCullough is being used on social media to promote a fake COVID-19 recall, according to a new analysis from AFP. The footage comes from a June 2022 testimony McCullough gave to the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. In the clip, he testifies that a “global recall of all vaccines” is now in place, adding that 40,000 vaccine-related deaths have already been reported around the world.

The post was “liked” by thousands of users on Instagram, but AFP’s fact-checking team has said that these claims are “inaccurate.” They reached out to numerous government agencies, including some from outside of the United States, to reach this conclusion.

“As of July 26, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration had not listed any recalls for the four COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S.,” according to AFP. Abby Capobianco, an FDA spokesperson, is even quoted in the article confirming this to be the case.

Representatives from the CDC, European Medicines Agency and World Health Organization also communicated to AFP that they did not know of any global efforts to recall vaccines.

Small batches of some vaccines have been recalled in the last two years, AFP’s team added, due to specific issues. But no vaccines have been recalled altogether, and vaccination is still being encouraged all over the world.