The TGA has ramped up its efforts to stop Clive Palmer from falsely claiming hundreds have died after COVID-19 vaccination, writing directly to Facebook and YouTube to enlist their help.

Professor John Skerritt, the medicine watchdog’s head, wrote to the social media giants last week urging them to remove misleading claims that “undermines Australia’s vaccination program”.

On Facebook, they included in sponsored posts paid for by Mr Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP) that reached more than a million people.

“Extracts of information have been selectively taken from the Database of Adverse Event Notifications, which is hosted on the TGA website, and have been presented in such a way on social media that many could conclude that the vaccines have been responsible for several hundred deaths in Australia,” Professor Skerritt said.