What was claimed
Sadiq Khan faked getting the flu jab as the plastic cap was still on the needle.
Our verdict
The cap is still on the needle, because the image was taken before the mayor had the vaccination.
A picture of Sadiq Khan just before his flu jab doesn’t show he didn’t get it
2 October 2020
A photo of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan getting the flu jab has gone viral on Facebook, with people claiming that because the cap is still on the needle, that he did not get the injection.
The original picture does show the cap on the needle. A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor received his flu vaccination at a local pharmacist on Monday. This photo was taken just before he had the injection, which is why the cap is still on the needle. It is important that everyone who is eligible gets vaccinated as this is the best way to help protect yourself against flu.”
The pharmacist that gave him the jab can be seen preparing the site of injection on the upper arm, and adjusting the mayor’s shirt sleeve. The flu jab is given to most people in the UK as an intramuscular injection, in the deltoid muscle, which is at the very top of the arm.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because he didn’t fake getting the flu jab, the picture was taken just before.