A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories of the week.

Claim

Because 14 people in Pfizer's placebo group died and 15 people in the vaccinated group also died, Pfizer's own data shows its COVID-19 vaccine does not reduce the risk of dying from the disease.

The Facts

Those figures are irrelevant to the vaccine's efficacy, as they are simply a tally of all deaths that occurred among participants in both the placebo and vaccine groups in Pfizer's ongoing study. Pfizer's data shows that the vaccine is highly effective at preventing serious illness. Data from countries that have used the vaccine widely show it is also effective at preventing death from COVID-19.

On July 28, Pfizer released updated data from its vaccine study showing that as of mid-March, the shots were 97% effective in preventing severe disease from COVID-19 up to 6 months later. The data also showed the shots' efficacy against COVID-19 symptoms dropped slightly with time: it peaked at 96% efficacy 2 months after the shots were administered and fell to 84% after 6 months.

Claim

Resuscitation is not possible for many vaccinated people who become seriously ill from COVID-19. In some cases, their hearts are too “stiff” to respond to paddles used to deliver an electric shock. Microclots in surrounding tissue may be the reason.

The Facts

Emergency room physicians say they have heard of no such issues involving people vaccinated for COVID-19 who become sick, and the claim, which circulated on Twitter, was not supported by any evidence.

“It is flat out wrong.” Dr. Ryan Stanton, an emergency physician in Lexington, Kentucky, said he has only admitted one vaccinated person with COVID-19 at his hospital.

Claim

The best way to avoid COVID-19 altogether is to exercise, eat healthy and let your immune system beat it naturally.

The Facts

A screenshot of a tweet circulating widely on Instagram this week revived a harmful misconception that has proved pervasive throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: the false claim that letting your immune system fight the virus is safer than getting vaccinated.

“The best way to avoid COVID altogether is to exercise, eat healthy and let your immune system beat it naturally,” the post reads. “The lazy way is to do none of the above and just let strangers stick an emergency cocktail in your arm countless times because some short guy on your TV told you to.”

In reality, while being overweight or having chronic health conditions can increase your chances of suffering from COVID-19 complications, no combination of exercise or healthy food can shield you from becoming seriously ill or dying if you get the virus, experts say.

Claim

California is mailing out ballots for the governor recall election because of the delta variant.

The Facts

The California Legislature passed a bill in February, months before the delta variant surge, requiring that mail-in ballots be sent to all registered voters ahead of an election. On Sept. 14, California will hold a recall election that could remove first-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, from office.

In February, the state Legislature passed a bill mandating that all active registered voters get a ballot in the mail for the election even if they didn't ask for one.

Claim

A state-by-state report of excess votes for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election suggests there was election fraud and affirms that former President Donald Trump actually won seven key states that were called for Biden.

The Facts

A former army captain's report that gained traction among some conservatives this week falsely claimed Trump won several states that he lost in the 2020 election. The report, which based its claims on assumptions related to voting and registration trends, provided no proof of fraud.

The report appears to use voting trends, population growth data and registration records to create “heat maps” showing how far the 2020 results diverged from the author's predictions at the county, state and national levels. However, it doesn't disclose where these numbers originated or the methods by which the analysis was performed.