Clip does not show Danish health minister collapsing after vaccination

By: Nikolaj Kristensen
September 11 2023

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Context

A clip of what is supposedly a health minister collapsing at a COVID-19 press conference is circulating on social media. The clip is featured at the beginning of a 10-minute-long video that has been shared more than 80,000 times and has amassed 3.1 million views on Facebook.

The video shows multiple clips and news reports of people, including actors, athletes, and reporters, among others, collapsing and suffering medical ailments. These clips are presented alongside graphics that say, "Do not take the vaccine." At one point in the video, it is said such incidents have skyrocketed following the COVID-19 pandemic, implying that COVID-19 vaccinations are the cause. 

However, the video provides no evidence for the implied link. As is the case with the alleged health minister, several featured incidents have been demonstrably proven to have no relation to COVID-19 vaccines.

In fact 

The "health minister" in the clip is not a minister. On April 14, 2021, Danish health authorities held a press brief announcing that Denmark would halt the rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to concerns about increased risks of blood clots. Leading the briefing was Søren Brostrøm, then-Director General of the Danish Health Authority, and Tanja Erichsen, a department director at the Danish Medicines Agency.

A while into the press briefing broadcast, Erichsen fainted. Afterward, rumors spread online that Erichsen had died, linking the supposed death to COVID-19 vaccinations. But a tweet a few days later proved Erichsen to be alive and well, and the Danish Medicines Agency told the Danish fact-checking organization TjekDet that Erichsen had not yet had the COVID-19 vaccine.

The incident happened only a few months into the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, and the Danish vaccine schedule from around that time shows that almost exclusively the older people,  people at risk, and workers in health and eldercare sectors were being vaccinated at that time. 

The viral video also has the caption, "Died Suddenly on Rumble go watch.." superimposed on it, referring to the pseudoscience documentary that claims COVID-19 vaccines have caused the deaths of thousands. Logically Facts has previously debunked multiple claims from the film.

The video also features claims by American gossip journalist A.J. Benza that American actor Jamie Foxx suffered a blood clot in his brain following a COVID-19 vaccine shot, leaving him partially paralyzed and blind. Benza made the claim on the Dr. Drew podcast following the actor's hospitalization earlier this year. Logically Facts debunked the claim on the basis that the two vaccines associated with a small risk of thrombosis are not commonly used in the U.S. In an Instagram post, Foxx addressed some of the claims surrounding his hospitalization, saying he had not been paralyzed or rendered blind. Recent posts show him driving and walking dogs. 

The verdict

The woman fainting in the video had not been vaccinated before her collapse. She's also not a health minister but a department director at the Danish Medicines Agency. The video repeats previously debunked claims about COVID-19 vaccines and provides no evidence for the link it suggests between medical ailments and COVID-19 vaccinations. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.