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FACT BRIEF

Did Pfizer's CEO say the company's COVID-19 pill will contain a microchip that transmits information?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

An online article making the claim uses a clip of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla speaking in 2018 — well before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Pfizer spokesperson told Lead Stories that the claim is false.

Speaking at a forum at the 2018 World Economic Forum, Bourla was discussing ingestible technology unrelated to the yet-undeveloped Paxlovid, Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pill. Ingestible technology, also known as a "smart pill," allows patients and health care providers to track health conditions. 

Bourla talked about a "smart pill" approved by the FDA in 2017 that can track when the patient took the drug. Bourla brought up the drug to acknowledge advances in the relationship between technology and patient engagement.

The emergency use authorization issued by the FDA for Pfizer's Paxlovid does not mention a microchip.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
World Economic Forum Transforming Health in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Food and Drug Administration Paxlovid: FDA Authorizes First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of COVID-19
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.