Fact check: FDA never said unvaccinated people are more educated than vaccinated
The claim: The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory board said unvaccinated Americans are more educated than the vaccinated
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, some social media users are putting words in the mouth of a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee.
“FDA vaccine advisory board said Friday unvaccinated are more educated on the vaccine than most people who have gotten it, and ‘we cannot adequately refute their concerns, which should make us all very uncomfortable,'” reads text in a Sept. 20 Instagram post.
The claim started as a tweet before it was shared as a screenshot across Instagram. The Sept. 19 tweet is not live on Twitter, but multiple screenshots are still posted on Instagram.
The claim is a misrepresentation of comments a doctor made during a Sept. 17 meeting of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. The agency did not endorse his comments.
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USA TODAY reached out to several Instagram accounts that posted the image for comment.
Comment made by doctor, not FDA
Dr. Joseph Fraiman, a Louisiana emergency medicine physician, spoke during the open public hearing session at the Sept. 17 meeting.
During his presentation, Fraiman asked the FDA to conduct a larger study on the benefits of booster shots to help quell fear among unvaccinated patients in his community.
“I know many think the vaccine-hesitant are dumb or just misinformed. That’s not at all what I’ve seen,” he said. “In fact, typically, independent of education level, the vaccine-hesitant I’ve met in the ER are more familiar with vaccine studies and more aware of their own COVID risks than the vaccinated.”
Fraiman gave the example of a young nurse he worked with who said she felt her risk of getting COVID-19 was lower than her risk of experiencing a serious side effect from the vaccine. He asked the FDA to conduct larger trials to prove the vaccines' benefits outweigh their risks.
The FDA holds open public hearing sessions during every advisory committee meeting. FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco told USA TODAY in an email that presenters are members of the public, and the agency does not endorse their views.
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Capobianco said Fraiman was not an FDA employee and the agency did not screen his comments.
“The FDA does not endorse comments made during the public hearing,” she said. “The public hearing is a chance for members of the public to present data, information or views, either orally during the meeting or in writing, on issues pending before the committee.”
In an email to USA TODAY, Fraiman confirmed he was not speaking on behalf of the FDA. "I was speaking to express my concerns as an emergency physician who regularly works with the vaccine-hesitant, and felt my personal experience could be valuable for the FDA advisory board decision," he said. "I did not expect my presentation to receive the attention that it has."
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the FDA's vaccine advisory board said unvaccinated Americans are more educated than the vaccinated. This is a misinterpretation of a statement made by a doctor at an FDA advisory committee meeting. The agency told USA TODAY it didn’t make, screen or endorse Fraiman’s comments.
Our fact-check sources:
Lown Institute, accessed Sept. 24, JOSEPH B. FRAIMAN, MD
Food and Drug Administration via YouTube, Sept. 17, Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee – 9/17/2021
Food and Drug Administration, May 2013, The Open Public Hearing at FDA Advisory Committee Meetings
Abby Capobianco, Sept. 24, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Reuters, Sept. 23, Fact Check-FDA did not say unvaccinated individuals are more educated than the vaccinated
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: FDA didn't say unvaccinated people are more educated