Fact Check-Fauci did not say COVID-19 vaccines spread the disease

Social media users share an article that falsely claims that the top US infectious disease official, Dr Anthony Fauci, said COVID-19 vaccines are spreading the disease. The title implies that the vaccine itself causes the virus to spread, which is false. In fact, Fauci said that vaccinated people with breakthrough Delta variant infections had a similar level of virus in the nasopharynx as unvaccinated cases.

Examples can be seen here and here .

The article titled: “Fauci Admits Covid ‘Vaccines’ Spread Disease” was posted on August 5, 2021 on naturalnews.com (archive.ph/CWfPl). (Reuters debunked other misinformation published by the outlet, here , here , here , here .)

The article refers to an interview with Fauci on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on August 1, 2021, with the transcript visible. here and a video here .

Host John Dickerson asked Fauci about his understanding of the Delta variant, which has become the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the United States. (here).

Fauci responded by explaining that no vaccine is 100% effective and that revolutionary infections can occur.

“When you look at the level of virus in the nasopharynx of vaccinated people, who get breakthrough infections, it’s really quite high and equivalent to the level of virus in the nasopharynx of unvaccinated people who are infected,” Fauci said in the report. ‘interview. . “It’s very different from the Alpha variant.”

Fauci then explained that the previous Alpha variant exhibited an extremely low level of virus in a vaccinated person compared to an unvaccinated infected person, pointing out that we now know that vaccinated people with breakthrough infections of the Delta variant can transmit the virus. viruses to others.

While the article in the articles explains part of this, the isolated title is misleading in itself and reads as if the vaccines themselves are spreading the virus.

Reuters Fact Check previously refuted claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause disease here

VERDICT

Missing context. Fauci did not say the COVID-19 vaccines are spreading the disease. He said the level of virus in the nasopharynx of people vaccinated and unvaccinated with the Delta variant of the virus is similar, and people vaccinated with breakthrough infections can infect others.

This article was produced by the Reuters fact-checking team. Learn more about our fact-checking workhere.