SciCheck Digest
Country singer Jake Flint died unexpectedly on Nov. 27, just hours after his wedding. Social media posts baselessly insinuate Flint died because of the COVID-19 vaccine. The 37-year-old singer received his second dose more than a year before his death, and his representative said Flint’s death was “not related in any way” to the vaccine.
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As of Dec. 6, more than 655 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S., and 80.5% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vaccines used in the U.S. — Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax — underwent clinical trials before authorization or approval to ensure safety and efficacy against COVID-19. As we’ve previously reported, the majority of people who receive the vaccines experience minor, temporary side effects or none at all — although rare adverse safety concerns can arise. Side effects usually occur within a few days of receiving the vaccine.
But since the COVID-19 vaccines became available, there have been numerous false and misleading claims linking vaccines to the death or injury of famous performers, athletes and world leaders.
Now, social media posts baselessly insinuate that 37-year-old country singer Jake Flint suddenly died just hours after getting married because of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Flint was vocal about being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. He tweeted on April 21, 2021, “Fully Vaxed to the max and ready to make some tracks to Halifax or wherever else. Key West preferably.” He also shared that he received his first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on March 29, 2021, and got his second dose on April 19, 2021, after posting his vaccination card to his now-deleted Instagram page.
On Nov. 29, an Instagram post shared a screenshot of Flint’s tweet above an article announcing his death, suggesting — without any evidence — that there’s a connection. Other posts shared photos of Flint’s vaccine card that were originally posted by Flint to Instagram.
Flint passed away in his sleep on Nov. 27. Although the cause of the singer’s death hasn’t been announced, Flint’s representative responded to the social media claims with a statement to E! News on Dec. 1 that said the singer’s death wasn’t due to his COVID-19 vaccination.
“I am the official publicist for Jake Flint and his family,” Clif Doyal said. “I can verify from them, and from my own personal knowledge, that Jake Flint’s sudden and tragic death was not related in any way to the COVID-19 vaccine. Pending an official autopsy report there will be no further comment.”
It’s also worth noting that Flint received his second vaccine dose more than a year and a half before his death.
Editor’s note: SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.org’s editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation. The goal of the project is to increase exposure to accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccines, while decreasing the impact of misinformation.
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