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Fact check: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines all passed animal testing

Devon Link, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: COVID-19 vaccines didn't pass animal studies

Controversy continues to surround the use of ivermectin despite warnings from health officials and a lack of evidence that it has any preventative benefits against COVID-19.

Now some proponents of the anti-parasitic drug traditionally used for animals are falsely claiming COVID-19 vaccinations haven't passed animal studies.

“The people making horse medicine jokes are getting injections that haven’t passed animal studies,” claims an image in singer Ted Nugent's Sept. 7 Facebook post.

Fact check: Post about ivermectin and Afghan refugees is missing context

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The post received more than 2,500 shares in its first three days.

But the claim is wrong. Each of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. have completed animal testing.

Nugent revealed he was in agony after testing positive for coronavirus — months after he said the virus was “not a real pandemic.” "I thought I was dying," Nugent says in a Facebook live video posted Monday.
Nugent revealed he was in agony after testing positive for coronavirus — months after he said the virus was “not a real pandemic.” "I thought I was dying," Nugent says in a Facebook live video posted Monday.

USA TODAY reached out to Nugent for comment.

Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson each completed animal testing

Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson produce the only COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson continue to roll out vaccines under Emergency Use Authorizations. Pfizer became the first vaccine to gain official FDA approval in August.

All have conducted animal testing on their vaccines.

Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson each discussed their vaccines’ animal studies in press releases. In each of the vaccines’ animal testing trials, the vaccines showed they effectively limit COVID-19 contraction.

In the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Emergency Use Authorization forms, the FDA referenced the results from each of the vaccines’ animal studies.

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The results from these animal studies were also published in peer-reviewed journals.

FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt told USA TODAY the claim is "not true."

Vials for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines sit on a tray, ready to be administered at a clinic.
Vials for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines sit on a tray, ready to be administered at a clinic.

In May, USA TODAY debunked a claim that COVID-19 vaccine makers had to halt animal testing due to widespread deaths.

Our rating: False

We rate FALSE the claim that COVID-19 vaccines didn't pass animal studies, based on our research. Each of the vaccines currently authorized for use in the U.S. has passed animal testing. The FDA referenced these studies in the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines’ Emergency Use Authorization forms, and an FDA spokesperson confirmed this claim is false.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: The COVID-19 vaccines all passed animal studies