Beverley Turner wrongly claimed that the Covid vaccines don’t reduce infection or transmission of the virus

4 Jun 2021 | Full Fact's weekly news
View in your browser ([link removed])

FACT CHECK
This Morning guest makes a series of false claims about vaccines

A heated exchange between presenter Dermot O’Leary and This Morning guest Beverley Turner went viral on social media this week.

Ms Turner, a television presenter, made a series of false and misleading statements about Covid vaccines—including claims that they do not prevent infection or transmission of the virus.

Multiple, reliable forms of evidence show that vaccines greatly reduce a person’s chance of contracting or passing on a virus.

Studies have found that people given one dose of the Pfizer vaccine have a 70% reduced risk of becoming infected, both with and without symptoms, rising to 85% after the second dose.

Data in adults over 70 shows that both the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca vaccines are between 60-70% effective against symptomatic disease around a month after the first dose, and 85-90% after the second dose of Pfizer.

As to the claim on vaccines not stopping people passing on the virus—evidence suggests that one dose of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines significantly reduces your chances of passing on the virus to members of your household, if you do catch it.

Debunking more vaccine myths ([link removed])
Friend, it’s time to tackle false claims about vaccines

False claims can undermine people’s confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines. This puts us all in danger.

As independent fact checkers, we rely on our community of monthly donors to call out this kind of bad information as soon as we find it.

If you’re tired of vaccine conspiracy theories, could you help call them out?
Yes, I'll chip in £10 ([link removed])
Yes, I'll make a regular donation ([link removed])
FACT CHECK
The BBC did not falsely report that only 350 people attended anti-lockdown protests ([link removed])

In the wake of widespread “Unite for Freedom” protests in London over the weekend, thousands of people shared social media posts which wrongly claimed that the BBC vastly under-reported the size of the demonstrations.

According to the misleading posts, the BBC reported that only 350 people attended—when in reality, many thousands went to the protest.

The posts feature an image of journalist Victoria Derbyshire reading the news, above what appears to be a crudely-faked caption which reads: “An estimated 350 people marched through London today in protest over Covid restrictions and vaccines”.

The caption is not real. The original screenshot actually came from a news report on 29 April 2020 about the birth of Boris Johnson’s youngest son.

We have not been able to find any BBC coverage of the protest that took place in London on 29 May 2021.

How to spot a fake ([link removed])
JOIN THE TEAM
Wanted: Trustees for Full Fact ([link removed])

Full Fact is looking for two new trustees to help guide, oversee, and support Full Fact’s work.

As a Trustee you will work closely with fellow volunteers and staff to make important decisions about Full Fact’s work and direction, and advise and support our team in doing the best work possible.

Full Fact is looking for a new chair of our editorial sub-group, who will have significant editorial or journalistic experience and an understanding of both traditional and new media journalism.
View the Trustee role ([link removed])
FACT CHECK
Ian Brown wrong to say that Japan is no longer taking blood from vaccinated people ([link removed])

A screenshot of a tweet, posted on Instagram, by the Stone Roses’ lead singer Ian Brown claims that all Japanese citizens vaccinated for Covid-19 are not permitted to give blood.

It says: “If the jabs are so safe why has Japan stopped anybody who has had one from giving blood?”

This appears to be based on a claim that surfaced in early May in the US, which has already been disproven by American fact checkers FactCheck.org.

FactCheck.org spoke to Hitoshi Hatta, spokesperson for the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C, who said people were only restricted from donating blood within 48 hours after vaccination for Covid-19.

This, he said, was to give time to recover from any vaccine side-effects. A Google translation of guidance published at the end of April from the Japanese Red Cross supports his statement.
What are the rules in the UK? ([link removed])
JOIN THE TEAM
We're hiring: Press & Media Manager ([link removed])

We’re recruiting for a new Press & Media Manager to help tackle the spread of misleading, dangerous claims—and hold those responsible to account.

As Press & Media Manager, you will make sure our voice is heard in the daily news cycle, so that those who make false claims in public can’t get away with it.
View the job ad ([link removed])
MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* Covid-19 vaccines are very effective ([link removed])
* More than 10 people are dying of Covid-19 each week in the UK ([link removed])
* No evidence Nobel Laureate said vaccinated people will die in two years ([link removed])
* Matt Hancock wrong about number of Bolton vaccinations ([link removed])

Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
Stop the spread of bad information ([link removed])

Find these updates useful? We'd be incredibly grateful if you could share our fact checks and help more people access good information.
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Fonline%2FFreedom-March-false-covid-claims%2F Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Fonline%2FFreedom-March-false-covid-claims%2F)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
All the best,
Team Full Fact

============================================================
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
** Like us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
Have any questions or feedback? Please ** get in touch via our contact form ([link removed])
. We do not respond to direct replies to this email address.

Find out ** how Full Fact is funded ([link removed])
.

Copyright © Full Fact 2021 - All rights reserved

A registered charity (no. 1158683) and a non-profit company (no. 6975984) limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales.

Our mailing address is:
2 Carlton Gardens, London, SW1Y 5AA

We use Mailchimp to send you our emails and to see which articles are most popular. ** Read our privacy policy ([link removed])
or ** Mailchimp's privacy policy ([link removed])

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])