A recent study was shared as “proof” that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, but that’s not what it showed.
Cancer takes years to develop, and the study only found more diagnoses after vaccination, not more cases caused by vaccines. Other research even suggests vaccines might help some cancer patients live longer.
These are preliminary findings. They are worth considering, but neither show causation. Be mindful when reading headlines claiming a single study “changes everything.”
Vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving.
Stay protected. Get your COVID-19 and flu shots.
Sources
- False claims persist about COVID-19 vaccine-linked “turbo cancers” | Public Health Communications Collaborative | August 2023
- COVID-19 Vaccines Have Not Been Shown to Cause ‘Turbo Cancer’ | FactCheck.org | August 2023
- Fact Check: No evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause ‘turbo cancer’ | Reuters | December 2022
- Plasmid-gate: Debunking the DNA contamination claims in mRNA vaccines | Global Vaccine Data Network | October 2024
- COVID-19 Vaccines and People with Cancer | National Cancer Institute | October 2023
- There is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines with diseases like cancer or HIV | Health Desk | October 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines in People with Cancer | American Cancer Society | September 2024
- Fact Check: No evidence COVID-19 vaccines have caused increase in cancers, contrary to claims made on social media | Reuters | February 2022
- Fact Check: No evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer | Reuters | November 2021
- 1-year risks of cancers associated with COVID-19 vaccination: a large population-based cohort study in South Korea | Correspondence in Biomarker Research | September 2025
- New study revives myth that COVID-19 vaccines cause “turbo cancer” | Public Health Communications Collaborative | October 2025
- Daily Mail corrects article about Covid vaccines and cancer | Full Fact | October 2025
- Did the Korean Study Prove COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Cancer? | Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka | October 2025
- Fact Check: No evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause ‘turbo cancer’ | Reuters | December 2022
- Plasmid-gate: Debunking the DNA contamination claims in mRNA vaccines | Global Vaccine Data Network | October 2024
- COVID-19 Vaccines and People with Cancer | National Cancer Institute | October 2023
- There is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines with diseases like cancer or HIV | Health Desk | October 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines in People with Cancer | American Cancer Society | September 2024
- Fact Check: No evidence COVID-19 vaccines have caused increase in cancers, contrary to claims made on social media | Reuters | February 2022
- Fact Check: No evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer | Reuters | November 2021
- Fact Check: No evidence of mRNA cancer ‘explosion’ in Japan, no national emergency declared | Reuters | Updated May 2024
- Fact Check: Rising cancer rates in Britain unrelated to COVID-19 vaccines, not declared health crisis | Reuters | November 2024
- Fact Check: Rise in under-50s cancer diagnoses predates COVID-19 vaccines | Reuters | January 2025
- Here we go again: Another study is being misrepresented as evidence that COVID vaccines cause cancer | Science-Based Medicine | September 2025
- SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint blockade | Nature | October 2025
- New study showed mRNA COVID-19 vaccines help extend cancer survival? | Snopes.com | October 2025
- Health Rounds: mRNA COVID vaccines appear to make immunotherapy cancer drugs work better | Reuters | October 2025
- Reporting of Limitations of Observational Research | JAMA Internal Medicine | September 2015
- COVID-19 vaccinations have saved more than 1.4 million lives in the WHO European Region, a new study finds | World Health Organization | January 2024
- Lives saved by COVID‐19 vaccines | Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health on PubMed Central | September 2022
- Global Estimates of Lives and Life-Years Saved by COVID-19 Vaccination During 2020-2024 | JAMA Health Forum | July 2025
- COVID-19: Vaccine safety and side effects | Government of Canada
- Vaccine efficacy, effectiveness and protection | World Health Organization | March 2025
- COVID-19 and Cancer | American Cancer Society
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