A week after Oxford University announced promising results about the corona virus trial, a number of false claims and misleading statements were crowded on social media regarding the deadly virus vaccine.
The anti-vaccine movement has gained online appeal in recent years, and activists who oppose vaccination have changed their focus by making claims regarding the corona virus.
Claims about the impact on DNA
First, the video contains inaccurate claims about a trial of the corona virus vaccine made by an osteopath, Carrie Madej, popular on social media.
Carrie Madej’s video makes a misleading claim that the vaccine will change the DNA of the person who got the vaccine.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is designed to turn us into genetically modified organisms.”
He also claims – without including any evidence – that the vaccine will connect us with artificial intelligence devices.
There are currently around 25 vaccine candidates currently undergoing clinical trials worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, none of the vaccines can change human DNA and they do not contain technology that can connect people with artificial intelligence devices.
All vaccines are designed to trigger an immune response by training our bodies to recognize and fight the virus.
Carrie Madej made a number of other misleading claims, including vaccine trials which he said “did not follow good scientific protocols to ensure they were safe”.
“The new vaccine underwent a stringent safety check before it is recommended for widespread use,” said Michelle Roberts, health editor BBC online.
We have requested Carrie Madej’s comment about this claim, but have not received a response until the news is published.
Where was the video distributed?
The video was first published on YouTube in June and has been watched 300,000 times. The video is also popular on Facebook and Instagram.
This upload is still circulating in the United States, United Kingdom and a number of other countries.
A scientist in South Africa, Sarah Downs, who writes using the alias Mistress of Science, said that she found out about the video from her mother who got it from her prayer group.
The scientist then sent his rebuttal information to this group and said: “They are now getting better information, which I really like, because they all trusted the video before.”
Claims about vaccine trial rates
When the initial results of the Oxford corona virus vaccine study were published on Monday (7/20), the topic sparked much debate in the Facebook group focusing on the corona virus.
Some Facebook users posted comments saying they did not want the vaccine because they felt they would be used as “guinea pigs” and that it had been “hurriedly produced at full speed”.
They also worry about security given the accelerated pace of development.
However, Professor Andrew Pollard, head of Oxford vaccine researchers, told BBC that strict safety processes included in all clinical trials have been carried out.
This includes security reports to regulators in participating countries.
The experiment was so quick to conclude the first two phases due to material provided by the previous project on the corona virus vaccine in Oxford, the acceleration of the administration and funding process, and great interest in trials which meant no time was spent looking for volunteers.
When the trial moves to the third phase, with thousands of volunteers participating, all participants will be monitored for side effects.
There were no harmful side effects from the use of vaccines in the first two phases, although 16-18% of trial participants given the vaccine reported having a fever.
Researchers say the side effects can be treated with paracetamol.
When the Oxford vaccine trial was first begun, there were claims that the first volunteer had died.
The story was quickly refuted by fact-checking and medical correspondents BBC, Fergus Walsh, who conducted interviews with volunteers.
Claims about Spanish vaccines and flu
A meme circulating on social media claims that the vaccine was responsible for 50 million deaths during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918.
But this is completely wrong.
First, as stated by the US Centers for Disease Control, there was no vaccine at the time.
Scientists in the United Kingdom and the United States are experimenting with a basic bacterial vaccine, but this is not the vaccine as we know it today, said historian and writer Mark Honingsbaum.
This is “for good reason that no one knows that influenza is a virus”.
There are two main causes of death – the initial flu infection or from an unusually strong immune response triggered by a virus that causes the lungs to be filled with fluid.
Additional reports by Olga Robinson, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Peter Mwai.
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