[FALSE] Did the Pfizer CEO’s wife die from complications of the COVID-19 vaccine?

 

Screenshot of the WeChat article.

 

The Claim and Our Verdict

• The claim: A WeChat article published Nov. 15, 2021, claims the Pfizer CEO’s wife died from complications of the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Fact-checking:
  • The claim came from an article published Nov. 10, 2021, on the Conservative Beaver, which describes itself as a Canadian conservative news website.
  • Albert Bourla, the chairman and CEO of Pfizer, posted a tweet Nov. 12, 2021, that included a photo with his wife. The photo was taken Nov. 10, 2021, during the Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Awards ceremony, where he attended as an awardee. It proves that Bourla’s wife was still alive and appeared in public on the publication date of the Conservative Beaver article.
  • According to a fact check published Nov. 17, 2021, by The Associated Press (AP), Bourla’s wife did not die or experience “vaccine complications.” The AP fact-check article quoted a Pfizer spokesperson: “Our CEO’s wife is alive and well, contrary to what was said on the internet … It is unconscionable that a person posing as a journalist would spread such lies about our CEO and his family with the goal of undermining confidence in a vaccine that has been given to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”
  • Fact-checking organizations, such as Reuters and Agence France Presse, have tackled several false reports published on the Conservative Beaver website. The website is known for publishing inaccurate articles, therefore, it is not a credible source of information.
• Our ruling: Therefore, we rate the claim as FALSE.

News Brief

A WeChat article published Nov. 15, 2021, claims that Myriam Bourla, the wife of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, died from complications of the COVID-19 vaccine on Nov. 10, 2021, according to her doctor.

Fact-checking

A reverse image search found the claim came from an article published Nov. 10, 2021, on the Canadian conservative news website Conservative Beaver.

 

Screenshot of the archived Conservative Beaver article.

The Conservative Beaver describes itself as a Canadian conservative news website. It is known for publishing inaccurate articles and has been fact checked by several media and fact-checking organizations, such as Reuters and Agence France Presse. Therefore, this website is not a credible source of information.

According to Pfizer’s official website, Albert Bourla is the company’s chairman and CEO. He published a tweet Nov. 12, 2021, that included a photo with his wife. The tweet read: “Enjoying the moment with my wife and Pfizer’s Chief Human Resources Officer at last night’s Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Awards.” The woman in the middle is Pfizer’s Chief Human Resources Officer Payal Sahni Becher and the woman on the left is Albert Bourla’s wife, Myriam Alchanati Bourla. In the photo Myriam Bourla is alive.

 

Screenshot of the tweet posted by Albert Bourla.

The Atlantic Council, an American think tank, holds the annual event of the Distinguished Leadership Awards.  According to its official website, the 2021 event was held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C. Albert Bourla was one of the awardees. Based on a comparison of the photo on the website of the Atlantic Council, the event’s video on YouTube and Albert Bourla’s Nov. 12 tweet, we can conclude that he did attend the event on Nov. 10, 2021. Thus, Myriam Bourla, the wife of the Pfizer CEO, was still alive and appeared in public on the publication date of the Conservative Beaver article.

 

Photo of the event venue of the Distinguished Leadership Awards.

 

 

Screenshot of the event’s YouTube video.

A similar claim has been debunked by The Associated Press (AP). The fact-check article quoted Amy Rose, a spokesperson for Pfizer: “Our CEO’s wife is alive and well, contrary to what was said on the internet. It is unconscionable that a person posing as a journalist would spread such lies about our CEO and his family with the goal of undermining confidence in a vaccine that has been given to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”