DISINFO: Flu vaccine are the main reason for COVID-19
SUMMARY
In Europe, most of the victims who died from COVID-19 were previously vaccinated against the regular flu, and now we are hearing from inside hospitals (in Italy) that this vaccine was the main reason that helped spread and amplify this pandemic.
RESPONSE
Disinformation related to the origins of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, and in this case promoting anti-vaccine messaging, which is a recurring element of pro-Kremlin disinformation.
Flu vaccines are derived from influenza viruses. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu shots (given with a needle) are made in two ways. The first is by using flu viruses that have been ‘inactivated’ (killed) and are therefore are not infectious. The second is by using a single gene from a flu virus (as opposed to the full virus) in order to produce an immune response without causing infection.
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 is not an influenza virus. Coronaviruses are a different family of virus named after their crown-like shape, while the flu is caused by several different strains of the influenza virus.
Additionally, vaccines are supported by extensive scientific research. They are the main tool for primary prevention of disease and one of the most cost-effective public health measures available, saving millions of people from illness, disability and death each year. Immunisation through vaccination is the best defence we have against serious, preventable and sometimes deadly contagious diseases.
See more information on vaccines here. The World Health Organisation has a page devoted to anti-vaccine myth-busting here.
Read similar cases claiming that vaccines don’t heal and that their production is part of the agenda for a New World Order, or that Trump says the Flu shot is a scam.