{"id":113291,"date":"2021-04-30T19:06:46","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T19:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=113291"},"modified":"2021-04-30T19:06:46","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T19:06:46","slug":"fact-check-coronavirus-vaccines-dont-cause-death-wont-decimate-worlds-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/fact-check-coronavirus-vaccines-dont-cause-death-wont-decimate-worlds-population\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact check: Coronavirus vaccines don\u2019t cause death, won\u2019t decimate world\u2019s population"},"content":{"rendered":"

The claim: Coronavirus vaccines are killing people and will decimate the world\u2019s population<\/h2>\n

Several widely shared videos and blog posts on Facebook say the coronavirus vaccines are a matter of life and death \u2014 but not due to the risk of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

In an article published April 22, and later taken down, a website called Red Pill University (a reference to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory) wrote that COVID-19 vaccines \u201cwill decimate world\u2019s population.\u201d As evidence, it cites a video featuring Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi.<\/p>\n

Bhakdi is a microbiologist who has promoted ideas that run counter to the scientific consensus about the coronavirus pandemic, including the false claim that face masks don\u2019t protect against infection. In the video, which was originally published by the New American, a conservative magazine, Bhakdi says coronavirus vaccines are deadly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are forcing vaccination on people, and I believe they are killing people with this vaccination,\u201d he says during the video, which has more than 268,000 views on Rumble, a video-sharing platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys, don\u2019t get a third or fourth or fifth (shot), because if you do that, you are going to contribute to the decimation of the world\u2019s population,\u201d he says later.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the 40-minute clip, Bhakdi calls the pandemic \u201ca fake,\u201d says wearing masks and quarantining is \u201cabsolutely ridiculous nonsense,\u201d and coronavirus tests don\u2019t work. In this fact-check, we\u2019re focusing on the claim that coronavirus vaccines are killing people.<\/p>\n

That claim sounds scary coming from a scientist, but it isn\u2019t accurate.<\/p>\n

The Food and Drug Administration has approved three coronavirus vaccines for emergency use in the United States. Clinical trials involving tens of thousands of participants found the vaccines were all safe and effective at preventing coronavirus infection, and millions of Americans have safely received them.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no evidence the vaccines cause death, or that they will depopulate the planet \u2014 and clear evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Fact check: <\/strong>Biden didn’t say July 4 celebrations may be canceled if people don’t get COVID vaccinations<\/span><\/p>\n

USA TODAY reached out to Red Pill University and the New American for comment.<\/p>\n

Coronavirus vaccines are safe, effective<\/h2>\n

There are three coronavirus vaccines approved for emergency use in the U.S.: one from Pfizer-BioNTech, one from Moderna and one from Janssen, a pharmaceutical company owned by Johnson & Johnson. Public health officials say all are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Over the course of several months in 2020, more than 100,000 people participated in clinical trials for the coronavirus vaccines as a group. None of those trials found that the vaccines caused death. The FDA approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in December, and Johnson & Johnson\u2019s vaccine in February.<\/p>\n

Fact check:<\/strong>No, interacting with a vaccinated person won’t cause miscarriage or menstrual changes<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, more than 143 million Americans have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

If the vaccines were as deadly as Bhakdi says, we would surely see widespread and mounting deaths in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a federally managed database of self-reported vaccine side effects. There are reports of coronavirus vaccine-related deaths in the VAERS database, but since anyone \u2014 from doctors and nurses to patients and parents \u2014 can submit cases, the CDC says those reports are unverified and may be inaccurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective,\u201d the CDC says on its website. \u201cTo date, VAERS has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n

No evidence of autoimmune responses<\/h2>\n

Bhakdi says in the video the vaccines can kill people by causing autoimmune responses. He says that\u2019s because messenger RNA (mRNA) \u201cpackages\u201d \u2014 genetic strands in the Pfizer and Moderna shots that tell your body how to defend itself against the coronavirus \u2014 don\u2019t leave the bloodstream and could cause your immune system to attack healthy cells.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s wrong on both fronts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

mRNA vaccines work by getting our cells to produce the spike protein free of any virus. (Photo: Jennifer Borresen\/USA TODAY)<\/span><\/p>\n

Fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked the notion that coronavirus vaccines cause autoimmune disorders. There is no evidence to suggest they do, and Bhakdi\u2019s rationale for the claim \u2014 that mRNA never leaves the bloodstream \u2014 isn\u2019t accurate. Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n

When someone receives a vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna, mRNA strands program cells to produce spike proteins similar to those on the surface of the coronavirus. The body recognizes those proteins as invaders and produces antibodies to block them. Those antibodies prevent future coronavirus infections.<\/p>\n

Once that process is completed, mRNA doesn\u2019t linger in the bloodstream.<\/p>\n

Fact check: <\/strong>FDA did not associate Pfizer’s first vaccine dose with COVID-19 infections<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cell breaks down and gets rid of the mRNA soon after it is finished using the instructions,\u201d the CDC says on its website.<\/p>\n

Blood clot cases extremely rare<\/h2>\n

According to Bhakdi, another way coronavirus vaccines are killing people is through the formation of deadly blood clots. That\u2019s inaccurate spin on recent news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.<\/p>\n

In mid-April, the CDC and the FDA recommended a brief pause in Johnson & Johnson shots after six cases of a rare type of blood clot were reported in women between the ages of 18 and 48 among the nearly 7 million people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the time. One woman in Virginia died.<\/p>\n

Fact check: <\/strong>CDC recommends masks in most cases even after COVID-19 vaccine<\/span><\/p>\n

After a review of the vaccine\u2019s safety, public health officials recommended April 23 that Johnson & Johnson shots resume nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cA review of all available data at this time shows that the J&J\/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine\u2019s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks,\u201d the CDC says on its website. \u201cHowever, women younger than 50 years old especially should be aware of the rare but increased risk of this adverse event and that there are other COVID-19 vaccine options available for which this risk has not been seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our rating: False<\/h2>\n

The claim that coronavirus vaccines are killing people and will decimate the world\u2019s population is FALSE, based on our research. Public health officials say all three coronavirus vaccines approved for emergency use in the U.S. are safe and effective at preventing infection. There is no evidence the vaccines cause deadly autoimmune disorders, and reports of blood clots following the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are extremely rare.<\/p>\n

Our fact-check sources:<\/h2>\n