Facebook posts claim US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pretended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine using a syringe that had a cap over the needle. This is false; an image of the top Democratic lawmaker being vaccinated makes clear that the needle was uncovered when the shot was administered.
"Hard to get the vaccine if they don't take the cap off the needle," says a December 18, 2020 Facebook post that includes an image of Pelosi being vaccinated in which the needle is not visible.
A screenshot of a Facebook post taken on December 21, 2020
Other examples of the claim appear on Facebook here, here and here.
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As COVID-19 vaccines are administered around the world, false and misleading claims about them are spreading across the internet, raising doubts about a key tool in the fight against the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 1.6 million people.
"Today, with confidence in science & at the direction of the Office of the Attending Physician, I received the COVID-19 vaccine," Pelosi tweeted on December 18.
A screenshot of a tweet taken on December 21, 2020
The claims on Facebook feature an image of Pelosi that does not show the needle because it was apparently inside her arm.
But the following photo of Pelosi's vaccination makes clear that there was an exposed needle on the syringe.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi receives a COVID-19 vaccination shot in her office in Washington, DC on December 18, 2020 (POOL / AFP / Ken Cedeno)
A close-up of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi receiving a Covid-19 vaccination shot on December 18, 2020 (POOL / AFP / Ken Cedeno)
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