“Only the elderly get water vaccines” “Vaccine death concealment” fake news

On the afternoon of the 16th, a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccination education for nurses who will be put into hospitals dedicated to corona19 infectious diseases, hospitals dedicated to treatment of severely ill patients, and life treatment centers at the Korean Nursing Association Seoul and Gangwon Employment Training Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. This is being done. [연합뉴스]

Amid the vaccination of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), a lot of fake news spread on SNS (social network services) such as YouTube and Facebook, and Busan City started blocking fake news.

On the 21st, the Busan City Health Authority recommended that “the corona19 vaccination will begin in Busan from the 26th, and fake news related to vaccines is ramping up, raising citizens’ anxiety.” “Please use the official information of Busan city such as the homepage.” . Accordingly, the city of Busan recently released a fact-checked fake news related to the Corona 19 vaccine in Busan. The following is the main presentation.

◇ “Young people are Pfizer, old people are water vaccines (saline solution)” = One of the fake news that has recently spread mainly on SNS such as YouTube and Facebook is about the’water vaccine’. The main point is that young people are vaccinated with highly effective vaccines such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, and elderly people are vaccinated with a’water vaccine’ that does not have any effect of saline. This rumor, which seems to have spread through YouTube, is obviously fake news in that’only the elderly are given fake vaccines’.

Graphic = Reporter Lee Jeong-kwon [email protected]

An official from Busan City said, “I feel sorry for the spread of absurd false facts.” “The vaccines to be vaccinated in the future come through a transparent process, and the origin is clear and there is no reason to bring in a fake vaccine.”

◇“Concealing death after vaccination” = There are rumors that health authorities are concealing even though a death accident occurred after vaccination in Korea. It is a vain claim that the clinical trials are under way, such as administering vaccines to patients at high risk of death. This is also fake news. This is because it is said that some people have died after vaccinations that have not even started. Vaccination has not yet started nationwide, and the vaccination is scheduled to start from the 26th in Busan.

Death cases after vaccinations that occurred abroad were also found to have no significant association with vaccines. According to health officials, the 33 people who died after vaccination in Norway recently (42,000 total vaccinations) were elderly people with serious underlying diseases. An official from Busan City said, “All vaccines have the potential to cause adverse reactions, and the rate of adverse reactions of the Corona 19 vaccine is low.”

In the second pan-government integrated simulation training held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do on the 19th, military officials are working on fixing the Corona 19 vaccine transport vehicle loaded on an air force transport plane. [사진공동취재단]

◇ “All vaccines planned for domestic vaccination are made in China” = There is also a claim that safety cannot be guaranteed as all vaccines coming in Korea are made in China. There is also a gruesome comment on the article, which is circulated in the online community, saying, “A Chinese homicide vaccine will kill everyone.”

The government currently has 10 million international vaccine joint purchase and distribution projects, including COVAX 10 million, Pfizer 13 million, AstraZeneca 10 million, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) 6 million, Modena vaccine 20 million, NovaVax vaccine 20 million, etc. It has secured 79 million vaccines. An official from Busan City explained that none of them were made in China.

◇ Controversy about vaccine components? =’Abortions, monkey kidney cells, pig virus, calf serum, cultured chicks’, etc. are the main components of the vaccine, and are spread on SNS. This is also not true. Health officials explained that none of these ingredients can be found in the currently released Pfizer, Modena, and AstraZeneca vaccine ingredients list.

On the 18th, at the GTRIBNT distribution warehouse in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, officials are practicing AstraZeneca vaccine distribution before the second pan-government integrated simulation training for the distribution of a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine. [연합뉴스]

Busan City is focusing on providing official information in response to the spread of fake news related to vaccines. All vaccine-related information is disclosed on the official website of Busan City and on Facebook and Instagram. The daily situation related to Corona 19 is also briefed on SNS at 1:30 pm every day.

Gyu-won Yoo, head of the communication headquarters of Busan City, said, “A single rumor about unconfirmed vaccines can raise citizens’ anxiety,” and “I will do my best to prevent the spread of fake news and provide accurate information.”

Busan = Reporter Hwang Sun-yoon [email protected]