The claim: The WHO admitted mpox is a side effect of COVID-19 vaccines
An Oct. 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a headline linking mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox, to COVID-19 vaccines.
“WHO admits Monkeypox is ‘Side Effect’ of Covid ‘Vaccine,'” reads the headline. The post includes an image of World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The post was shared more than 700 times in less than three weeks.
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Our rating: False
The WHO made no such admission. The COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause mpox, and the claim originated with a website that has repeatedly shared misinformation.
Database does not say injections caused disease
The WHO declared mpox a public health emergency in August and continues to monitor a multi-country outbreak of the disease. But the WHO has not linked the disease to COVID-19 vaccines.
There is no announcement connecting mpox and COVID-19 vaccines on the WHO’s website. There is likewise no credible news reporting about the organization making such an admission.
The Facebook post’s caption claims the admission is “buried on the WHO’s VigiAccess website,” but this is not accurate.
VigiAccess is the public-facing tool for searching the WHO’s VigiBase database, which logs reports made by individuals to national health authorities. In the database, there are reports of individuals contracting mpox at some point after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
However, the database clearly says that reported events are not necessarily linked to any treatments or vaccinations received. “Information in VigiAccess on potential side effects should not be interpreted as meaning that the medicinal product or its active substance either caused the observed effect or is unsafe to use,” the website reads. “Confirming a causal link is a complex process that requires a thorough scientific assessment and detailed evaluation of all available data. The information on this website, therefore, does not reflect any confirmed link between a medicinal product and a side effect.”
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COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause mpox, as USA TODAY previously reported.
Dr. Christopher Sanford, an expert in travel and tropical medicine at the University of Washington, previously told USA TODAY that there is no mpox DNA in the COVID-19 vaccines, the ingredients of which are publicly reported. He also said the spread of mpox does not correlate to the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
The headline featured in the post comes from Slay News, which has previously published misinformation that USA TODAY has debunked. The website has falsely claimed that 20% of New Zealanders who received COVID-19 vaccines died, that the World Economic Forum called for using AI to rewrite the Bible and that former Secretary of State John Kerry called for farmers to stop growing food.
USA TODAY reached out to Slay News and the social media user sharing the claim for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
Reuters also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
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WHO, accessed Oct. 30, About VigiAccess
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WHO, accessed Oct. 30, VigiAccess Frequently Asked Questions
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USA TODAY, Aug. 23, Claim of link between mpox and COVID-19 vaccines is nonsense | Fact check
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Dr. Christopher Sanford, Aug. 21, Phone interview with USA TODAY
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CDC, updated April 18, About mpox
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FDA, revised Aug. 22, fact sheet for recipients and caregivers about pfizer-biontech COVID-19 Vaccine
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WHO database does not link mpox to COVID-19 vaccine | Fact check
