Pfizer CEO did not say COVID vaccines are 'quite dangerous' in TV interview

David Williams January 24, 2025
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A fake quote about COVID vaccines falsely attributed to the head of Pfizer is being shared online. Image by AP PHOTO

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

The Pfizer CEO has admitted on live TV that COVID jabs are "quite dangerous".

OUR VERDICT

False. Albert Bourla does not say COVID jabs are "quite dangerous" anywhere in the CNBC interview.

AAP FACTCHECK - Claims that Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said in a live television interview that COVID-19 vaccinations are "quite dangerous" are being spread online - although he never said it.

A viral post on Facebook claims the head of Pfizer, the company that manufactured the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine, accidentally admitted during an interview on CNBC in the US that COVID jabs "are quite dangerous".

The claim is based on an article, to which post includes a link, published by The People's Voice, a website frequently checked by AAP FactCheck.

Screenshot  of a Facebook post with false claims regarding Mr Bourla.
The claim is easily debunked by watching the video. (AAP/Facebook)

The article begins with the statement: "Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla accidentally admitted on live television that Covid mRNA jabs 'are quite dangerous' to humans".

However, the rest of the article fails to provide quotes to back up the claim in the headline and first paragraph, and no evidence is provided to support it.

Mr Bourla was interviewed by CNBC on January 14, the day the article was published, and the article provides a link to the interview on YouTube.

It runs for almost six minutes and covers a range of topics including Pfizer's 2025 outlook, bird flu, confidence in vaccines and obesity drugs.

Mr Bourla does not say in the interview that COVID jabs are dangerous.

The interview begins at the 35 seconds mark of the video. The subject is Pfizer's business strategy for 2025, following a statement by the CNBC anchor that the company's shares were down "nearly eight per cent".

From the 2 mins 40 secs mark, the interview shifts to bird flu and its potential to cause a pandemic.