Fact Check: Lawyer Who Supported COVID Vaccination Did NOT Die From COVID Vaccination

It Was Cancer

Did Yemi Getachew, an immigration lawyer who posted in support of COVID-19 vaccination, subsequently die from COVID-19 vaccination? No, that’s not true: Getachew was diagnosed with cancer and was admitted to hospice care shortly before her death because of the disease.

The claim was implied in a post published on Instagram on November 17, 2022. The post contained a video with a clip of Getachew expressing support for COVID-19 vaccination. Other images used in the video showed that she was vaccinated. The video then featured an image of this post memorializing Getachew after her death. The caption of the Instagram post making the claim read:

#suddendeathsyndrome
#depopulationagenda
#thenewnormal
#suddenlydied
#diedsuddenly
#sideeffects
#covidbc
#wakeup

This is how the post looked on Instagram at the time of the writing of this fact check:

(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Wed Nov 22 16:07:15 2022 UTC)

Before she died, Getachew posted about getting vaccinated for COVID-19. This video, which was used in the video posted on Instagram, is an example of her support for vaccination.

Getachew, who founded a law office in San Jose, California, that specialized in immigration law, was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare, malignant tumor that arises from smooth muscle cells. On social media, she detailed her life with cancer (examples are here and here), even posting a “Cancer care update” on October 25, 2022, to say that she had entered hospice care and was experiencing her “last days on earth.” According to Getachew’s law office, she died on November 6, 2022:

(Source: Screenshot of Yemi Getachew Immigration Law Office P.C. website taken on Wed Nov 23 17:27:57 2022 UTC)

Even the Facebook post used in the video published on Instagram stated that Getachew was dealing with cancer.

Lead Stories contacted Getachew’s law office about the claim about her death and will update this story accordingly if a response is received.

Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to COVID-19 vaccination can be found here.