Social media posts try to connect Saget’s death to COVID-19 vaccine booster

Actor and comic Bob Saget was found dead on Jan. 9 in a hotel room in Orlando, a day after he had performed a set there. 

The county sheriff’s office tweeted that deputies responded to a report of an unresponsive man at the Ritz-Carlton; he was identified as Bob Saget. 

"Detectives found no signs of foul play or drug use in this case," the sheriff’s office said.

Joshua Stephany, the county’s medical examiner, announced on Jan. 10 that an autopsy had been completed but that the cause and manner of death were "pending further studies and investigation which may take up to 10-12 weeks to complete."  

That hasn’t stopped some social media users from claiming without evidence that the star of "Full House" and "America’s Funniest Home Videos" died from a COVID-19 vaccine. 

"Another victim of the jab," one Twitter account said. 

"Bob Saget died from vaccine complications in his hotel room, on the first night of his fully vaccinated comedy tour," another claimed. 

"He just received his COVID booster a few weeks ago," a Facebook account added.

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Featured Fact-check

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.”

Saget’s publicist did not immediately respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the posts, but no credible news reports or statements from authorities or Saget’s family have connected his death to the COVID-19 vaccine. 

In May, on his podcast "Bob Saget is Here for You," Saget talked with Dr. Jon LaPook of CBS News about vaccine hesitancy, "common medical misinformation," "and the amazing efforts scientists and doctors are making to help people during this time," according to a description of the episode on Bob Saget’s YouTube page. 

Saget has also joked about the vaccine, tweeting in July that he got "vaccinated five to six times a day and I feel great!!"

In August, he said: "Please people, I don’t wanna preach, but please get your visine today. Sorry, auto-correct— I meant vaccine… Help save eyes…Sorry, damn this auto-correct!  I meant save lives."

"I went to the dumbest pharmacist yesterday and asked for my booster and he gave me a child’s seat," he tweeted in November. "I was pissed until I sat at the table and was a foot taller."

Saget, whose comedy was often bawdy despite his wholesome prime-time TV image, was scheduled to perform sets at venues that required attendees to show evidence of their full vaccination against COVID-19. A clip from a Dec. 13 recording of his podcast is being shared on social media in the wake of his death. In it he says: "I went to the pharmacy the other day I got a booster shot and I should’ve gotten it in my arm but I got it in my butt so I’m a little in pain." 

About 1:35:30 into the episode, Saget says: "I try not to preach you know about — I got my booster shot, I’m 65, so I got it yesterday — day before — and I was hurting… I’ve been telling people I got it in my ass."

In a Jan. 5 episode of the podcast "A Corporate Time with Tom & Dan," Saget also talked about catching COVID-19. The timeframe is unclear, but Saget mentioned both the delta and omicron variants, saying, "I might have had a combo."

What is clear: Claims that Saget died from the COVID-19 vaccine booster he joked about a month earlier are unfounded. His cause and manner of death have not been released. 

We rate these posts False.