Gov. Gavin Newsom is rejecting unsubstantiated reports that he canceled his planned trip to Europe because he had a bad reaction to the COVID-19 booster shot.
The governor visited a COVID-19 vaccine and flu shot clinic on Wednesday and cleared up speculation about why he skipped the climate change summit in Scotland, saying he couldn't miss Halloween with his kids.
"Oh, I made that crystal-clear yesterday. I wanted to spend time with the family," Newsom stated.
He took questions from reporters for the first time since those rumors started and directly addressed unsourced reports that he might have stayed home because of a reaction to the booster he got on Oct. 27.
"Well that's made up, I had absolutely no impact whatsoever from the COVID shot. Nor the original nor the booster absolutely none, no fatigue even no soreness," he said
He acknowledged that it's part of a bigger issue when it comes to misinformation. Especially as he tries to encourage Californians to get their booster shots before a winter surge.
"How we push back against lies, misinformation, intentional and otherwise and it's hard," he said. "It's a firehose."
He said it's alarming to see "misinformation weaponized" especially towards the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
Related
