No, the CDC didn’t say refusing to take the vaccine is racist

An illustration of a person getting a shot in their arm has been spreading on social media. They’re wearing a face mask, and three large beads of sweat drip from their hairline.

"FACT: Refusing to take the vaccine is a form of racism since it harms people of color," the text reads. A logo for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appears in the left corner. The website address for a CDC page about COVID-19 appears in the right. 

"The newest CDC campaign," read one of many posts sharing the image. "See who’s all working together yet?"

A reverse image search of the illustration in the Facebook post led us to tweets that shared the image but nothing connecting it to the CDC. 

However, we found a template for the image — no text, just the illustration, logo and link — that people can use to create their own memes. So we created one. It says: "I can type anything here."

The CDC did not respond to PolitiFact’s query about the post. A spokesperson for the agency told Check Your Fact that the image in the post was "not developed or posted by CDC."

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Threads posts

stated on October 26, 2024 in a Threads post

Four Florida counties had “zero results” Oct. 26, and “something underhanded might be happening.”

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has spoken about the intersection of race and COVID-19. In an April 8 statement, she noted that the disease’s impact is "felt, most severely, in communities of color — communities that have experienced disproportionate case counts and deaths." But she didn’t mention the vaccine. 

And the image in the Facebook post is not from a real CDC campaign. 

We rate this claim post False.