Social media users falsely claimed that a video showed Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke pretending to be receiving the coronavirus vaccine to ‘encourage compliance’. Although a Flemish minister is shown in the cut, it is not Vandenbroucke – nor did the minister have to receive a vaccine.
Examples of posts sharing the video can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here). It shows how a nurse is administering an injection – and she seems to be using a needleless syringe. One caption to the video reads: “The Belgian Minister of Health pretends to be taking the vaccine. But there is no needle. Why not? “Another adds:” Cameras flicker. Tons of plays. Nothing suspicious of a massive PR program to ensure compliance. A Belgian health minister doing ‘his part’ to keep everyone safe. ”
One Instagram account claims that the lack of needle is a plan to ‘mock us’ because it is a trademark movement of the devil ’.
First, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke does not show up; it shows Deputy Prime Minister of the Flemish Government Bart Somers. Second, the footage was captured in February during a test run at a vaccination center.
On February 1, Summers and fifty volunteers take part in a so-called ‘dry run’ at the De Kimpel vaccination center in Bilzen (here, here). The simulation was set up to detect logistical problems in the middle before vaccination of the vaccine. Somers’ social media clip was taken from a news report discussing this test run.
On his Facebook page, Somers wrote that the footage (here, here) showed that the De Kimpel vaccination center is being ‘extensively tested’ thanks to the dry run. The syringe used on him was not real, he added.
Previous fact check on the alleged vaccination of vaccinations can be read (here, here and here).
VERDICT
Untrue. The video shows Bart Somers, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Flemish government, during a test run at a vaccination center. A necessary syringe was not used because the minister took part in the test before the vaccination.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.