KABUL (Pajhwok): A Facebook post, which claims that people vaccinated against coronavirus will die within two years, has worried citizens while medical experts reject this claim as incorrect and urge people to get inoculated against the disease.
Rumors:
The Facebook page named “Man Wa Ma Ba Corona” has released a video clip titled “Corona vaccine has dangerous side effects,” in which a person talks about the side effects of the vaccine. “There are four major risks of the vaccine and if we don’t talk about it now, it will be too late,” he said.
According to the person in the video clip, the vaccine is developed based on genetics in the UK, and was first applied to people who were mostly young, and it caused severe muscle aches, fevers and severe headaches and it is like a disaster for elderly individuals.
He added the vaccine contained various chemicals in its composition which could cause strong sensitivity and even shortness of breath in those who were applying it.
According to him, the third risk of the vaccine is that it puts the body’s immune system in danger because when it was administered to animals on a trial basis, some of them died at the time, the fourth risk of this vaccine is that it causes blockage of the body’s veins and subsequent death.
In another Facebook post, Professor Luke Monte, a Nobel prize winner, also shared his thoughts about bad consequences of the vaccine. The post reads: “All those who have been vaccinated against coronavirus will die within two years.”
Meanwhile, an Urdu-language Pakistani newspaper reported that those who had been vaccinated against the virus would die within two years.
The Iranian daily ISNA reported: “These days, rumors have been circulating on social media after the first human step to launch coronavirus vaccine program and a wave of fear has been created and it is questioned whether the vaccine can cause death or it is to confuse public minds.”
Fact-checking:
Following the certain social media posts, many people have questioned whether what they read on social media and hear from people around them is true? Is it true that people die after being vaccinated against coronavirus? Is the vaccine fatal and all will die after two years?
Health experts: Reports about Covid-19 vaccine that it causes death in two years have no scientific basis.
Dr. Baz Mohammad Sherzad, a former public health adviser, told Pajhwok that reports that anyone getting Covid-19 vaccine would die after two years had no scientific basis.
He added: “The scientist did not say in his video clip that those who have been vaccinated against coronavirus will die within two years, but called the vaccine a medical error and has opposed its usage.”
Sherzad said the scientist said the virus had caused a change in the type of coronavirus, but the findings showed that the form of the virus had changed before the implementation of the virus.
He quoted the scientist that the vaccine weakens body’s immune system and causes a variety of disease, but it was not true, the antibody recognizes and fights the virus.
He added the report had frightened people, adding that not only his colleagues did not agree with the scientist’s view, but also many medical experts called it baseless.
He pointed out that some social media outlets were publishing such baseless reports to promote themselves, adding that the scientist had not yet provided scientific proofs to support his claim.
According to Sherzad, the scientist has lost his reputation due to baseless claims.
Dr. Sherzad termed the vaccine beneficial, saying he himself had vaccinated and urged the citizens to get the vaccine and should not worry about it. He stressed that vaccine is the only solution to stay safe from the deadly disease.
Meanwhile, Dr. Hakimullah Saleh, former director of the Afghan-Japan hospital, also denied that the Covid-19 vaccine could cause death after two years of administering.
He said the circulation of such reports was reprehensible rumor, adding that some were publishing such statement due to distrust in Indian-made medicine.
He described the article as “unscientific” and said it was impossible for anyone to die two years after the vaccine was administered.
According to him, medical experts also consider such reports as baseless and unscientific and do not believe in such views, and citizens should not believe in such unscientific reports.
He emphasized the need to focus on vaccinations and healthcare, and said that coronavirus was dangerous and deadly.
Mukhtar Azad, a professor of virus science at the University of Tehran, said: “The Nobel Prize winner Luke Montania is the first person who discovered AIDS, and the publisher of such false prediction in the name of the scientist was to convince everyone, while the translation of his speech shows that this is not the case and these rumors are being spread by groups opposed to the vaccine.”
Responding to a question regarding the vaccination, he said: “Nothing like this has been reported (case of death after the vaccination) so far. Such rumors are being spread by people who are opposed to the vaccine, actually the words of the scientist have been misunderstood.
Officials have also called the report a rumor and are urging people to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Ghulam Dastagir Nazari, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, told Pajhwok that the reports had no scientific basis and people should not believe them.
Deputy spokesman for the ministry, Usman Tahiri, urged the people to follow the health recommendations and implement the vaccine.
According to him, more than 968,000 doses of vaccine have been imported to Afghanistan so far and they have been all used.
"So far, 650,000 people have been vaccinated against the disease and the process is almost over, but the Ministry of Public Health is trying to import more Oxford Strazinka shipments," he said.
He added the MoPH had sent letters to all vaccine companies and countries requesting vaccines, but unfortunately they had not been able to buy the vaccine due to lack of adequate vaccine in the global market.
Pointing out that Afghanistan needs 50 million doses of the corona vaccine, Taheri said more shipments would be imported in the coming weeks.
Taheri called on the people to cooperate with the ministry and consider the health recommendations.
utcome: Recently, some Facebook users and some foreign media outlets reported that the coronavirus vaccine was causing death two years after it was administered, and it has raised public concern, but medical experts have rejected the claims and said it has no scientific basis.
Verdict: According to officials and doctors of MoPH, the report that the vaccine against Covid-19 causes death after two years is incorrect.
sa/ma
“This Investigative Report was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Pajhwok and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.”
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