RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Along with the new recipe of COVID-19 booster shots comes another claim that skeptics are using to justify their skepticism.
The new bivalent shots that target the BA.5 omicron subvariant became available last week to people 12 and older who received their initial vaccine series more than two months ago.
But were those new shots tested rigorously enough before they were injected into people?
THE CLAIM: Multiple skeptics on social media have claimed the BA.5-specific booster may be unsafe because, before humans began receiving it, it was tested on only eight mice.
THE FACTS: The basic fact is actually true — the preliminary findings presented by Pfizer were based on tests in eight mice.
What does it mean? Well, that is being blown out of proportion because experts point to several reasons why that might sound worse than it actually is.