Double vaccinated people do not make up 60% of Covid-19 hospitalisations

23 Jul 2021 | Full Fact's weekly news

FACT CHECK
Double vaccinated people do not make up 60% of Covid-19 hospitalisations

The government’s Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance corrected himself this week, after claiming at a press conference on Monday that 60% of people currently in hospital with Covid-19 were double vaccinated.

He clarified on Twitter that same evening: “About 60% of hospitalisations from covid are not from double vaccinated people, rather 60% of hospitalisations from covid are currently from unvaccinated people.”

The latest available data from Public Health England shows that, of the 1,165 confirmed Delta Variant cases between 1 February and 21 June 2021 that led to an overnight stay in emergency care, 63% were unvaccinated, while 14.8% had received both doses of the vaccine.

We welcome Sir Patrick’s timely correction. However, some social media users have continued to share the original, incorrect claim without acknowledging the correction in their posts. It’s important to double check a piece of factual information before sharing it.

Double check the facts

FACT CHECK
Lord Sumption made several errors about Covid on Today

On BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday, the former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption made several mistakes about Covid-19 data, including seriously underestimating the number of Covid deaths in the UK.

He claimed that a “very large number of people have died with Covid, but not necessarily of Covid”, and many would have died within the year anyway.

Official data from death certificates shows that up to 2 July this year, 124,082 people died with Covid as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales alone.

Research also suggests that people dying of Covid lost far more than a year of life—about a decade on average.

The BBC aired a correction of Mr Sumption’s claims the following morning.

What the evidence tells us

Friend, our media must do more to tackle false claims.

The BBC were right to air a correction on Lord Sumption. But these were not new claims, and they were known to be wrong. The show put them on air without the facts to hand.

At this stage of the pandemic, when bad information can leave people at risk of serious harm, we all deserve better.

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FACT CHECK
The EU doesn’t have a 40% tariff on African food imports

Outlining the UK’s commitment to developing nations on newsnight last week, MP George Freeman said the UK is reducing the EU’s 40% tariff on food from Africa.

But the EU doesn’t have a 40% tariff on African food imports. Most African countries export to the EU tariff free.

We’re pleased that Mr Freeman apologised and let us know he would not repeat the claim again.

How the tariffs work

FACT CHECK
Richard Tice makes misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines and fertility

Reform UK leader Richard Tice claimed in a tweet that “forcing” young women to have the Covid-19 vaccine is “almost certain” to lead to “increased stillbirths, miscarriages, disabled children, infertility”, in a tweet

There is no evidence to support his claims, which appeared to be a reaction towards the announcement that people attending nightclubs in England must be fully vaccinated from the end of September.

Mr Tice cited the Yellow Card Scheme and its US counterpart the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System as his source, but the data from these systems does not prove a link. It’s important to note that reporting through these programmes is voluntary, and any adverse reaction reported after vaccination might not necessarily be because of it.

Advice from the NHS says there is no evidence that the Covid-19 vaccines affect fertility, and the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been “widely used during pregnancy in other countries and no safety concerns have been identified.” Evidence reviewed by the MHRA “has raised no specific concerns for safety in pregnancy”.

After being questioned on why he shared inaccurate information about the vaccines, Mr Tice later deleted the tweet and apologised.

What official health data says

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