Fact Check: Chelsea Clinton-Endorsed Vaccine Program 'The Big Catch-Up' Does NOT Mandate Vaccines For US Children

Does the Chelsea Clinton-endorsed vaccine program "The Big Catch-up" require U.S. children to receive a COVID-19 mRNA immunization? No, that's not true: The program is a global effort to "catch up" on giving recommended childhood vaccines, which declined globally during the 2020 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) told Lead Stories that there are no mandated vaccinations required under this program, while a spokesperson for the former first daughter confirmed that she never stated that all children must be forced to be vaccinated.

The claim originated in an article published by The People's Voice on May 5, 2023, (archived here) under the headline, "Chelsea Clinton: 'It's Time To Force-Jab Every Unvaccinated Child in America.'" An introduction to the article read:

Chelsea Clinton has declared that unvaccinated children in America must be forced to take the mRNA jab with or without parental consent.

Chelsea - via the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) - along with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says she hopes to force jab unvaccinated children via a new initiative called "The Big Catch-up."

Below is how the article appeared at the time of this publication:

(Source: The People's Voice screengrab taken Mon May 8 09:37:00 UTC 2023)

Similar versions of the claim were also published by The Children's Health Defense and in posts shared on social media that falsely implied Clinton supported the "forced" immunization of children in the U.S.

A spokesperson for Clinton confirmed to Lead Stories that she never said that all people and children should be forced to be vaccinated.

"She did not say this but very much believes (and did say) that no one should die of polio or measles or pneumonia including in this country where we also need people to be vaccinating our kids," Clinton spokesperson Sara Horowitz told Lead Stories in an email received on May 9, 2023.

WHO told Lead Stories in an email received May 8, 2023, that The Big Catch-up does not require children in any nation to be forced to receive an immunization.

"There are no mandatory vaccinations associated with this effort. Some countries require vaccines for children to enroll in school," Daniel Epstein of the WHO media relations team wrote.

The Big Catch-up refers to a global initiative announced during World Immunization Week, held the last week of April 2023. It is a joint effort among WHO, UNICEF, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Immunization Agenda 2030, among others, described as:

... a targeted global effort to boost vaccination among children following declines driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 25 million children missing at least one vaccination in 2021 alone, outbreaks of preventable diseases, including measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever are already becoming more prevalent and severe. The Big Catch-up aims to protect populations from vaccine-preventable outbreaks, save children's lives and strengthen national health systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine vaccination efforts across the globe, resulting in about a