claim: Study in Italy shows nearly 1 in 3 COVID vaccine recipients have neurological side effects, indicating an “unacceptable” safety profile
evidence: Study in Italy didn’t show COVID-19 vaccines have an "unacceptable" safety profile, contrary to claim by Peter McCullough [...] In late October 2023, a claim that a study found "nearly 1 in 3 COVID-19 vaccine recipients suffered neurological side effects" made the rounds on the Internet. The claim originates from an Epoch Times article, which is in turn based on a Substack article by cardiologist Peter McCullough. McCullough has figured prominently in the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. The Epoch Times posted the same claim on Instagram, receiving more than 11,000 likes. In his Substack article, McCullough cited a study by researchers in Italy, which surveyed vaccinated people to measure the number of neurological adverse events occurring after COVID-19 vaccination. He claimed the study showed "a shocking 31.2% of respondents to this large dataset sustained neurologic injury after two injections with verified data in health registries" and called the safety profile of the COVID-19 vaccines "unacceptable".