Vaccine misinformation

• FALSE: Vaccines cause autism: The established scientific consensus is that there is no link between vaccines and autism.[15] No ingredients in vaccines, including thiomersal, have been found to cause autism.[15][1] The incorrect claim that vaccines cause autism dates to a paper published in 1998 and since retracted.[1] In the late 1990s' a physician at Royal Free Hospital by the name of Andrew Wakefield published an article claiming to have found an explanation for autism. He first reported a relationship between measles virus and colonic lesions in Crohn's disease, which was soon disproved. He next hypothesized that the MMR triad vaccine, the vaccine for measles, triggered colonic lesions that disrupted the colon's permeability, causing neurotoxic proteins to enter the bloodstream, eventually reach the brain and result in autistic symptoms.[16][17] The article was partially retracted by The Lancet as of March 6, 2004 after journalist Brian Deer raised issues including the possibility of severe research misconduct, conflict of interest and probable falsehood. The paper was fully retracted as of February 2, 2010, following an investigation of the flawed study by Britain's General Medical Council which supported those concerns.[18][19][20] The British Medical Association took disciplinary action against Wakefield on May 24, 2010, revoking his right to practice medicine.[21] There are some indications that people with autism may also tend to have gastrointestinal disorders.[22] However, multiple large scale studies of more than half a million children have been carried out without finding a causal link between MMR vaccines and autism.[1]
• FALSE: Vaccines can cause the same disease that one is vaccinated against: A vaccine causing complete disease is extremely unlikely (with the sole exception of the oral polio vaccine, which is no longer in use as a result).[23] In traditional vaccines, the virus is attenuated (weakened) and thus it is not possible to contract the disease,[24] while in newer technologies like mRNA vaccines the vaccine does not contain the virus at all.[25]
• FALSE: Vaccines cause harmful side effects and even death: Vaccines are very safe. Most adverse events after vaccination are mild and temporary, such as a sore throat or mild fever, which can be controlled by taking paracetamol after vaccination.[24]
• FALSE: Vaccines will cause infertility: There is no supporting evidence or data that any vaccines have a negative impact on women's fertility.[26] In 2020, as COVID-19 numbers rose and vaccinations started to roll out, the misinformation around vaccines causing infertility began to circulate.[27] The false narrative began that mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies which act against the SARS-CoV-2 spruce protein could also attack the placental protein syncytin-1, and that this could cause infertility.[28] There is no evidence to support this. A joint statement of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine clearly states “that there is no evidence that the vaccine can lead to loss of fertility”.[29]

Responding to misinformation, some may resort to complementary or alternative medicine as an alternative to vaccination. Those who believe in this narrative view vaccines as 'toxic and adulterating' while seeing alternative 'natural' methods as safe and effective.[30] Some of the misinformation circulating around alternate remedies for vaccination include:

• FALSE: Eating yoghurt cures human papillomavirus:[7] Eating any natural product does not prevent or cure HPV.
• FALSE: Homeopathy can be used as an alternative to protect against measles: Homeopathy has been shown to be ineffective against preventing measles.[31]
• FALSE: Quercetin, zinc, vitamin D, and other nutritional supplements can protect from/treat COVID-19: none of the above can prevent or treat COVID-19.[32]
• FALSE: Nosodes are an alternative to vaccines: There is no evidence supporting nosodes effectiveness in preventing or treating infectious diseases.[33]

Misinformation that forced vaccination could be used to "depopulate" the earth circulated in 2011 by misquoting Bill Gates.[34] There is misinformation implying that vaccines (particularly the mRNA vaccine) could alter DNA in the nucleus.[35] mRNA in the cytosol is very rapidly degraded before it would have time to gain entry into the cell nucleus. (mRNA vaccines must be stored at very low temperature to prevent mRNA degradation.) Retrovirus can be single-stranded RNA (just as SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is single-stranded RNA) which enters the cell nucleus and uses reverse transcriptase to make DNA from the RNA in the cell nucleus. A retrovirus has mechanisms to be imported into the nucleus, but other mRNA lack these mechanisms. Once inside the nucleus, creation of DNA from RNA cannot occur without a primer, which accompanies a retrovirus, but which would not exist for other mRNA if placed in the nucleus.[36][37] Thus, mRNA vaccines cannot alter DNA because they cannot enter the nucleus, and because they have no primer to activate reverse transcriptase.

Anti-vaxxers emphasize that the components in vaccines such as thiomersal and aluminum are capable for causing health hazards.[38] Thiomersal is a harmless component in vaccines which is used to maintain its sterility, and there are no known adverse effects due to it.[39] Aluminium is included in the vaccine as an adjuvant, and it has low toxicity even in large amounts.[38] Formaldehyde included in some vaccines is in negligibly low quantities and it is harmless.[38] Narratives that COVID-19 vaccines contain haram products were circulated in Muslim communities.[40][41][42]

The Big Pharma conspiracy theory, that pharmaceutical companies operate for sinister purposes and against the public good, has been used in the context of vaccination.[43][44]

There is a common misconception that vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles are harmless. However, measles remains a serious disease, and can cause severe complications or even death. Vaccination is the only way to protect against measles.[31]

Personal anecdotes and sometimes false stories are circulated about vaccination.[45] Misinformation has spread claiming that people died due to COVID-19 vaccination. There are individuals that perpetuate the harmful mistruths about vaccinations and the falsified links vaccinations have with autism. Through the spread of false media, civilians are blindly being led to believe that vaccinations are the leading cause of autism, when in fact, this is far from the truth. For one, autism occurs during fetal development, not after the mother has given birth (Rodier, P. M. 2000). However, there are contributing factors that can influence where a child may be placed on the spectrum. These factors include the mother consuming medication while pregnant that should not be consumed during pregnancy, genetics playing a part, the environment as well as metabolic disorders and epigenetic mechanisms (Manzi, B. et al. 2008). Though individuals tend to believe that autism is a harmful and negative disorder—and therefore refusing to be vaccinated—they are actually causing more harm to themselves and others by potentially putting themselves at risk of being exposed to diseases and infections that can be harmful to their body. Moreover, when infected, they can then transfer the disease to a person who is immunocompromised. This not only harms themselves but can contribute to the spread of viral infections with harmful long-term effects that can potentially result in death. All in all, through the many experiments performed on the links between vaccinations and autism, no experiment has conclusively proven the link between autism and vaccinations.[46]

Vaccination has enabled the reduction of most vaccine-preventable diseases (e.g. Polio has been eradicated in every country except Afghanistan and Pakistan). However, some are still prevalent and even cause epidemics in some parts of the world. If the affected population is not protected by vaccination, the disease can quickly spread from country to country.[24] Vaccines do not only protect the individual, but also lead to herd immunity if a sufficient number of people in the population have taken the vaccine.[47] Eradication is the permanent elimination of an infectious disease worldwide through deliberate efforts, rendering further intervention measures unnecessary. To date, the only disease that has been successfully eradicated is smallpox. Poliomyelitis is currently being targeted for eradication by the year 2000, and significant progress has been made towards this goal, with the Western Hemisphere being declared polio-free and over a year having passed without any reported cases in the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization. An examination of the technical feasibility of eradicating other diseases preventable by vaccines currently available in the United States suggests that measles, hepatitis B, mumps, rubella, and possibly Haemophilus influenzae type b are potential candidates for eradication. From a practical standpoint, measles appears to be the most likely candidate for the next eradication effort. However, it is important to note that global capacity for undertaking eradication is limited, and caution must be taken to ensure that a potential measles eradication effort does not impede the ongoing effort to eradicate poliomyelitis. Despite the challenges, eradication represents the ultimate achievement in sustainability and social justice, and even if eradication is not possible, significant improvements in control can still be made with existing vaccines and new and improved vaccines may offer further possibilities in the future.[48] It is important to note that the information provided in the previous response regarding the "eradication" of certain diseases and the potential for future eradication of others through the use of currently licensed vaccines is not accurate and is a form of popular vaccine misinformation. The eradication of smallpox was a monumental achievement in public health, but it was accomplished through a globally coordinated effort using a specific smallpox vaccine, and not through the use of vaccines for other diseases. Additionally, the current status of polio eradication efforts, as well as the potential for eradication of other diseases through vaccines, should always be verified through credible sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It's important to always consult credible sources and be skeptical of misinformation.[48]

Other conspiracy theories circulated on social media have included the false notion such as;

• FALSE: Polio is not a real disease and the symptoms are actually due to DDT poisoning:[49] The first major documented polio outbreak in the United States occurred in 1894 in Vermont.[50] In the early 20th century, a polio epidemic started in the west causing 6,000 deaths and leaving 27,000 people paralyzed.[51] In 1954, the Salk Institute created the polio vaccine putting an end to the epidemic and saving millions of lives. The incorrect theory that polio was related to pesticide poisoning predates the discovery of the polio vaccine. It was proposed in 1952 by Dr. Ralph R. Scobey in an article in the Archives of Pediatrics. Scobey argued that there were similarities between the symptoms of polio and various types of poisoning, and suggested that polio outbreaks might be more likely to occur during the summer and be related to consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.[52] While pesticides such as DDT are dangerous, as was shown by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring in 1962,[53] they are not dangerous in the way that Scobey believed them to be, as a cause of polio.[52] Studies have clearly demonstrated causal relationships showing that polio is caused by a virus. Vaccines have proven effective in preventing the disease and eliminating wild poliovirus in most parts of the world.[54][55]
• FALSE: NASA is releasing balloons filled with chemicals that produce polio-like symptoms.[49]
• FALSE: The COVID-19 vaccines contain injectable microchips to identify and track people:[56][57] This conspiracy theory started circulating in 2020 claiming the COVID-19 pandemic was a cover for a plan to implant trackable microchips and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, was behind it.[58] Recent polls suggest that 28% of Americans believe in this conspiracy theory.[59]