CLAIM: A Pfizer subsidiary called Zoetis has injected mRNA vaccines into 100 million wildlife animals in the U.S.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The company, which was a Pfizer subsidiary but is now independent, does not have any messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines for animals, a representative confirmed to The Associated Press.
THE FACTS: The COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for humans use mRNA to instruct cells to create a spike protein to fight the disease.
The vaccines are safe and effective, but there have been persistent false and unfounded claims about the technology – including a recent widespread narrative that they are being added to the food supply via animals.
In a similar vein, a popular video shared on Instagram this week is erroneously claiming that a pharmaceutical company is injecting wildlife en masse with mRNA vaccines.
“Wild & domestic animals getting MRNA injected,” text on the video reads.
The video shows a clip taken from a February episode of the online show of conservative talk duo “Diamond and Silk,” now hosted by Rochelle “Silk” Richardson. Her sister Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway died in January.
“There’s a company, a subsidiary company of Pfizer, that’s called Zoetis,” a guest on the show claims. “They’ve already mRNA-injected 100 million wildlife in America. I guarantee you they’re doing it to pets too.” He later cites deers and elk as examples of wildlife “being mRNA-injected for COVID.”
But the claims don’t check out.
There are no COVID-19 mRNA vaccines licensed for animals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently told the AP.
Moreover, Zoetis — a pharmaceutical company focused on animal health that is actually a Pfizer spinoff — does not have mRNA vaccines against any disease.
“We do not have any mRNA vaccines for any animals,” Zoetis spokesperson Christina Lood said in an email to the AP.
Zoetis has made an animal vaccine against COVID-19, which is not mRNA-based, that has been used in some animals considered susceptible for the disease — such as some zoo animals.
Livestock in the U.S. are not legally required to receive mRNA vaccines, or any immunizations for that matter. Those decisions are made by ranchers and farmers to protect their animals.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
