Fact check: Post-vaccine hospitalization odds not 3 times higher as ex-Japan PM claimed – The Mainichi – The Mainichi

In this file photo taken on Feb. 22, 2010, then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama looks at a panel presented during questions in the House of Representatives Budget Committee in the Diet. (Mainichi)

In July, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama posted on Twitter that he had heard from a doctor that the World Health Organization (WHO) had acknowledged the hospitalization rate for people who had been vaccinated was three times higher than those who hadn't been, and the tweet spread. But there is no published WHO data that backs up this claim, and the WHO itself effectively denied it when approached by the Mainichi Shimbun. The information in the post is false.

-- Digital Minister Kono says former PM spreading misinformation

Hatoyama tweeted the information on his official account on July 13. He said he was "astonished" to hear it from Dr. Takuji Shirasawa, head of the Shirasawa Anti-aging Medical Institute. Hatoyama also referred to U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, which is developing vaccines. His post read as follows:

"I was astonished by what I heard from Dr. Takuji Shirasawa. He said that the WHO had acknowledged that people who have been vaccinated are three times more likely to be hospitalized than those who haven't been. It was also announced that there had been whistleblowing that Pfizer had deleted a large amount of data. I've heard about vaccine interests before, but it's now clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be dismissed as a conspiracy theory."

As of Sept. 2, Hatoyama's post had been retweeted some 27,000 times, and received 52,000 likes. The tweet elicited various replies such as, "Everyone knows this so they're not getting vaccinated," and "Thank you for posting this," as if those users were taking the post seriously. At the same time, others questioned the claim, replying, "Where is the source for this?" and "Are you saying that vaccinated people have been fooled?" Digital Minister Taro Kono, who previously served as the minister in charge of vaccinations, commented that the former prime minister was "spreading misinformation" and asked "What on earth happened?"

-- WHO effectively denies claim

The Mainichi Shimbun searched news releases on the WHO's official site using the terms "covid-19" and "vaccin" (the first letters of the words vaccine, vaccinated and vaccination), and found 95 applicable items (as of Sept. 2), but none of them contained information matching the content in the former prime minister's tweet.

The Mainichi Shimbun additionally asked the WHO by email if the post saying that the "WHO acknowledged that people who have been vaccinated are three times more likely to be hospitalized than those who haven't been" was true or not. The WHO quoted a statement released on June 17 and said that vaccines at present were highly effective against serious ailments and death for all mutations of the coronavirus.

But what about Pfizer, which the former prime minister said had received an internal complaint about the deletion of a large amount of data. Pfizer's Japanese arm merely told the Mainichi Shimbun that it had not confirmed any announcements indicating that people who have been vaccinated are more susceptible to hospitalization, and from current data, it was evident vaccinations were effective in preventing serious illnesses. Regarding the whistleblowing, the company said it was aware of such a claim. Pfizer Japan said it was disclosing the information it could about the vaccine in its press releases.

-- No response from former PM Hatoyama

The Mainichi Shimbun sought a comment from former Prime Minister Hatoyama through the East Asian Community Institute, which he presides over, but it had not received a response by the deadline on Aug. 29. A Shirasawa Anti-aging Medical Institute representative said Dr. Shirasawa had "no comment."

(Japanese original by Moe Yamamoto, Digital News Center)

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Fact check: Post-vaccine hospitalization odds not 3 times higher as ex-Japan PM claimed - The Mainichi - The Mainichi