Fact check: False claim that Pfizer filed a patent for remote contact tracing of vaccinated people
The claim: Pfizer filed a patent for remote contact tracing of vaccinated individuals
Vaccine opponents have raised false claims in the past that COVID-19 shots contain microchips or other tracking devices. USA TODAY previously debunked that claim.
Now social media users are claiming Pfizer, which received Food and Drug Administration approval for its COVID-19 vaccination in August, has received a U.S. patent for a contact tracing device.
"The Pfizer patent application approved, August 31st, 2021, is the very first patent that shows up in a list of over 18,500 for the purpose of remote contact tracing of all vaccinated humans worldwide," reads the text of an Instagram post shared on Oct. 8.
The Instagram user adds that microwave frequencies from cell towers and satellites are directly connected to the "graphene oxide held in the fatty tissues of all persons inoculated."
The post generated close to 300 likes in less than two weeks. Several other social media users shared this post.
But the claim is false. The patent was registered by two inventors, Gal Ehrlich and Maier Fenster, not by Pfizer.
A spokesperson from Pfizer confirmed the company has not registered a patent for remote contact tracing of vaccinated individuals, nor are microwave frequencies emitted from the Pfizer vaccine to allow for contact tracing of any sort.
USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the post for comment.
Patent was filed by two inventors
There is no patent filed by Pfizer that would allow for remote contact tracing of vaccinated individuals, said Kit Longley, spokesperson for Pfizer.
"There are no microwave frequencies emitted from the vaccine that would make remote contact tracing possible," Longley told USA TODAY.
This was also confirmed by Ehrlich, who registered the patent with Fenster.
"The patent has nothing to do with Pfizer or any other drug or vaccine producer in particular," Ehrlich said via email. "The invention was conceived during April, May 2020, after learning of the super-spreading phenomenon. No vaccine was available at that time."
The patent proposes using Bluetooth communications between cell phones to identify which people have the most social interactions and thus would be most important to vaccinate given a limited supply of a vaccine.
The patent stipulates that the use of vaccines to combat COVID-19, in cases where there is a short supply, would be more effective if it was administered to those having more social interactions first as compared to those who are at risk, according to Ehrlich. It does not say anything about microwave frequencies connecting to vaccinated people.
The idea is explained in a study Ehrlich and Fenster co-authored in 2021.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Pfizer filed a patent for remote contract tracing of vaccinated individuals. The patent was registered by two inventors to potentially use Bluetooth to identify people with the highest number of social interactions.
Our fact-check sources:
- Reuters, Oct. 22, Fact Check-Pictured patent is for contact tracing, not implantable 5G tracking
- Gal Ehrlich, Oct. 25, email exchange with USA TODAY
- Kit Longley, Oct. 25, email exchange with USA TODAY
- U.S. Patent, Aug. 31, Gal Ehrlich and Maier Fenster
- U.S. government patent database, Aug. 31, Gal Ehrlich and Maier Fenster
- USA TODAY, May 12, Fact check: COVID-19 vaccines don't cause magnetic reactions or contain tracking devices
- USA TODAY, Aug. 23, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine becomes first to win FDA's full approval, paving way for boosters, mandates
- USA TODAY, Oct. 26, FDA panel to review Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for kids; Alabama to fight Biden vaccine mandate: COVID-19 updates
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 26, 2020, Digital Contact Tracing Tools
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feb. 21, Contact Tracing for COVID-19
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Aug. 16, Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine
- Achla Marathe, Feb. 4, Prioritizing allocation of COVID-19 vaccines based on social contacts increases vaccination effectiveness
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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.