A message on social media with a list of claims linked to an alleged ‘game plan’ behind the COVID-19 pandemic has been viewed thousands of times online. The list contains the false suggestion that the vaccines developed to combat the disease are actually ‘placebos’.
An image with the list is titled ‘The WEF technocratic game plan’, with WEF referring to the World Economic Forum. At the end of the list it says: “Enjoy the complete control of a ‘sustainable’ orderly humanity. Agenda 2030 completed ”- which suggests that the pandemic is part of a plan to fundamentally change society (here).
Facebook users shared the post with captions such as’ Do not let it continue ‘and’ For those who believe that the return to normalcy is imminent. Not nearly. Covid is just part of an ‘agenda’.
Other allegations that the pandemic is part of a global conspiracy have been refuted by Reuters here, here, here, here and here.
This article deals with the primary demands of the post, but the others are beyond the scope of this check.
‘Release a laboratory-produced virus that is slightly more deadly than the flu’
The report indicates that this stage in the ‘game plan’ has already taken place. Although there is no credible evidence, some researchers still do not rule out the possibility that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, known as SARS-CoV-2, was accidentally released by a specialist laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (here) not. .
However, most virologists and infectious experts believe that the new virus most likely developed naturally. The closest relative in nature is the RaTG13 virus, which has been detected in horseshoe bats in Yunnan province in southwest China. The 96.2% genetic similarity between the two makes it probable that COVID-19 also originated in the bat colonies of China’s southwestern border areas (here).
Reuters reported in December 2020 that researchers found COVID-19 was three times more deadly than seasonal flu (here).
“Start first placebo vaccine”
The image reads that ‘we are currently’ when the ‘first placebo vaccine’ was rolled out.
Vaccinations against coronavirus are no placebo. The Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer BioNTech vaccines, which are available in the UK, have undergone clinical trials (here) to prove their safety and efficacy. During the trials, half of the volunteers were given the vaccine and half received a placebo-dummy treatment (here). Pfizer’s clinical trials with more than 40,000 people reported that the vaccine could prevent 95% of COVID-19 cases, and AstraZeneca’s trials with more than 23,000 people showed that the vaccine was 70.4% effective (here).
Both vaccines use a new technology where the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 protein is delivered to the body’s cells. Once in the body, the protein from the vein is produced, which causes the immune system to recognize it and initiate an immune response. (here).
The ingredients are outlined here by the Vaccine Knowledge Project of the University of Oxford.
“Use low PCR amplifications to prove that the vaccine works”
The report claims that ‘low PCR reinforcements’ is the next step on the agenda of the World Economic Forum. This refers to the most common form of COVID-19 test, a molecular test that uses nasal or throat swabs to look for evidence of genetic material of the virus. The most accurate molecular test is a polymerase chain reaction test – abbreviated to PCR (here).
The PCR test detects the virus by amplifying a small portion of the virus’ genetic material through amplification cycles. “The cycle threshold, or CT value, is the number of PCR cycles it takes before the virus is first detected; the lower the CT value, the higher the level of virus in the original sample, ‘says the Scottish Government in a recent issue discussing questions about PCR testing (here).
The allegation surrounding manipulation of PCR amplification could probably be linked to a notice from the World Health Organization explaining advice to laboratory personnel interpreting the results of PCR testing (here). It reminded readers that ‘careful interpretation of poorly positive results is needed’.
The statement led to a spate of postings claiming that the WHO ‘allowed’ PCR tests to yield very false-positive results and that the threshold of the amplification cycles required for a positive test was lowered. As the fact checkers at Health Feedback explained, it was inaccurate (here).
They pointed to a blog post by Ian Mackay, a virologist and associate professor at the University of Queensland (here). Mackay wrote that the WHO’s information notice was merely a reminder to laboratory staff to ‘read the instructions and understand the purpose of the test’. He lamented that “this laboratory-oriented advice was taken by those with malicious intent, or with too little understanding of the subject, and inflated into something else that is completely wrong.” (here)
VERDICT
Untrue. The coronavirus vaccines are not placebos, there is no evidence that authorities have modified PCR tests to generate false vaccine efficacy, and at the time of publication there is no credible evidence that COVID-19 was intentionally released from a laboratory. is not.
Most importantly, there is no evidence that the pandemic is a conspiracy organized by the World Economic Forum. To date, more than 100,000 people in the UK (here) have died from COVID-19.