Elon Musk has said that his experience with the COVID-19 vaccine was far more severe than the virus itself. His remark came in response to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that cited claims by a former Pfizer toxicologist about vaccine-related deaths in Germany.<\/p>\n
Replying to the post, Musk wrote, \u201cThe vaccine dosage was obviously too high and done too many times. I had the original Wuhan virus before there was any vaccine and it was much like any other cold\/flu. Bad, but not terrible. But my second vaccine shot almost sent me to the hospital. Felt like I was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vaccine dosage was obviously too high and done too many times.<\/p>\n
I had the original Wuhan virus before there was any vaccine and it was much like any other cold\/flu. Bad, but not terrible.<\/p>\n
But my second vaccine shot almost sent me to the hospital. Felt like I was dying. https:\/\/t.co\/rFuUpzBkKH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The toxicologist referenced is Dr Helmut Sterz, who previously headed toxicology centres in Europe for Pfizer. During a deposition linked to Germany’s pandemic inquiry, he raised concerns about how Pfizer’s Comirnaty mRNA vaccine was developed and tested in a quick manner.<\/p>\n \u201cThe carcinogenic risk was not investigated due to time constraints. Incidentally, I find it very concerning and also regrettable that no alternative investigations were carried out,\u201d he said as quoted by TCW<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr Sterz also pointed to a drop in birth rates following vaccination campaigns in several countries.<\/p>\n According to him, studies conducted before approval were limited in scale. Tests on animals, including rats, were not \u201creliable\u201d to estimate the vaccine’s effect on pregnancy.<\/p>\n Germany’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), was also criticised for prioritising speed over thorough evaluation.<\/p>\n \u201cThis meant that essential toxicity studies were sacrificed to speed, without acceptable justifications. I know of no case with a comparable indication in which all these studies were omitted. The approval led to prohibited human experiments,\u201d Dr Sterz said.<\/p>\n According to the report, RKI had internally noted that side effects were largely intended to be monitored only after the vaccine had already been rolled out widely.<\/p>\n Sterz also cited early post-approval data from Pfizer that mentioned over 1,200 suspected deaths within a short period, saying that the vaccine \u201cshould have been taken off the market then.\u201d<\/p>\n In Germany, more than 2,000 deaths have reportedly been recorded following vaccination, according to the Paul Ehrlich Institute. Sterz argued that underreporting could mean the actual numbers are significantly higher.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Germany, that would correspond to 60,000 deaths from the vaccination,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Another point he raised was about the differences between the vaccine tested during trials and the one later distributed to the public. He alleged that the mass-produced version involved bacterial components such as Escherichia coli, which could potentially lead to contamination with bacterial DNA, and \u201cthe consequence could be a significantly increased cancer risk.\u201d<\/p>\n