Dr. Fauci said one COVID-19 booster shot could be enough. Right-wing media falsely claim he said it would be required every six months.

Written by Eric Kleefeld

Published

Right-wing media are now spreading a completely dishonest portrayal of remarks that Dr. Anthony Fauci made over the weekend, falsely claiming that he said booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccines would be required every six months.

In fact, Fauci explained that such a thing might not be necessary at all — that as the situation continues to be monitored, a single booster shot could turn out to be enough.

Health authorities and other scientific experts have previously said there are valid reasons to believe that COVID-19 vaccinations could involve just one round of booster shots. The Pfizer and Moderna boosters, which were approved by the FDA for all adults last week, are part of a normal process in which the initial round of inoculations are then reinforced later on to provide longer-lasting protection.

Fauci appeared Sunday on ABC’s This Week, and explained that this question would be monitored going forward, to see whether one booster shot or an ongoing series would end up being the outcome.

From the November 21, 2021, edition of ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos

MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS ANCHOR): Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently said there's a high chance boosters would be needed annually. Do you think that's a possibility, or do you believe it might be even sooner, like every six months?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: You know, we follow the data, and there's always — it's so easy to predict, Martha, about how often you would need it. We would hope, and this is something that we're looking at very carefully, that that third shot with the mRNA not only boosts you way up, but increases the durability so that you will not necessarily need it every six months or a year. We're hoping it pushes it out more.

If it doesn't, and the data show we do need it more often, then we'll do it. But you want to make sure we get the population optimally protected and you do whatever you need to do, to make sure you do that. My hope as an immunologist, as an infectious disease person, that that maturation of the response increasing its strength and power will be followed by a greater durability. That's what I'm hoping for. If it doesn't happen, we'll act accordingly.

The Republican National Committee posted a dishonest tweet: “Anthony Fauci suggests Americans will need boosters every six months: ‘We’ll do it.’”  Although the RNC’s own video clip included Fauci’s cautious optimism that a booster shot would last much longer and thus not require shots every six months, the RNC’s completely twisted that message into becoming the opposite idea.

The dishonest spin has quickly spread throughout right-wing media. The far-right website The Gateway Pundit included the RNC’s tweet in a post titled “Dr. Fauci: Americans May Need Booster Shots Every 6 Months (VIDEO).”

This distortion of Fauci’s remarks also extended to a discussion Monday morning on Fox Business, between host Stuart Varney and commentator Matt Schlapp, attacking both Fauci and the COVID-19 vaccines in general

“You know, Matt, it sounds to me like we're going to be vaccinated every year, forever, and I don't think Republicans will care for that,” Varney said.

“Yeah, I think he's saying now it's going to be a required booster every six months,” Schlapp falsely claimed, as Varney nodded along. Schlapp continued, saying, “I've had inoculations where I had to get a booster after five years. I haven't had one where I have to get a booster after five months. Let's face it, this shot is intended to boost our immune system — it really isn't probably a true vaccine, certainly not an inoculation.”

From the November 22, 2021, edition of Fox Business’ Varney & Co.