This COVID-19 message which lacks context, is not given by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 11, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the message on COVID-19 and the Omicron variant was given by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. The post even claims that these were notes taken from her call with Edward Ryan MD, Director of International Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: COVID-19 message by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, taken from her notes from a call with Edward Ryan MD, Director of International Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Fact: The message was not given by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. The same content has been viral in the US without the name of Kiran Shaw. Massachusetts General Hospital has clarified that the notes on COVID-19 lacks nuance, context & details. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We could not find any recent news articles which say that Kiran Mazumdar Shaw had given such a message about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. We also could not find any such notes from a call, in relation to the message.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the Executive Chairman of Biocon Limited, which is a global biopharmaceutical company. Her social media handles (here and here) do not mention anything about such a message.
The same message has been viral in the United States and China, without the name of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. Massachusetts General Hospital clarified, in a press release, that the notes lack nuance and excluded certain points. “For instance, the role that vaccines play in mitigating severe disease or death was not included, and individuals with comorbid conditions should continue to take extra precautions to minimize contracting COVID irrelevant of age.”
Newschecker had contacted Kiran Mazumdar Shaw about a similar claim, to which she confirmed that she was not the one who took those notes.
To sum it up, this COVID-19 message which lacks context is not given by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.