A video featuring various speakers discussing the development of a COVID-19 vaccine contains a number of misleading allegations. These include the suggestion that young people have ‘absolutely no risk’ from COVID-19, that a change in season will end the effects of the disease and that Ivermectin is a well-known effective treatment that is ignored.
The video also includes a speaker omitting important information while describing trials of COVID-19 vaccines and another who incorrectly indicates that COVID-19 vaccination is the first time that a group not affected by a disease are not, vaccinated to protect the wider society (here).
Young people and public health
During the video, one speaker claims that young people, described as people under the age of 24, are not at risk of COVID-19 (time stamps 8.55, 33.06, 35.19, 59.14) and also says that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines are the first time in human history that people are vaccinated who do not have a direct risk of a disease (Timestamps 8.55, 31.07, 35.54).
Although the Central Bureau of Statistics in Ireland did not record any deaths among people under 25 due to COVID-19 (see Table 1 here: here), and this age group is most likely less seriously ill than older people, an epidemiology report released the same day that the Facebook video was broadcast showed that 113 people under the age of 24 have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the past two weeks and three have been admitted to ICUs (here).
Meanwhile, young people may also experience so-called ‘long COVID’ (here), with case studies indicating that children may experience similar long-term effects as adults after contracting COVID – 19 (here).
The National Institute for Health Research in the UK warns: ‘We have heard powerful stories that ongoing Covid19 symptoms are experienced by all age groups, from the youngest children to the oldest people’ (here).
The argument that vaccines are not given to healthy people to stop the spread of disease in other people is contradicted by the Health Protection Surveillance Center of Ireland, which says that the Rubella vaccine was introduced to boys to ‘pregnant women against rubella to protect ‘. which has spread in the community (pages 7 and 9 and the outline of graph 3 on page 5 here: (here).
Vaccine trials
Later in the video, a speaker gives the following description of COVID-19 vaccine trials (53.12): ‘The chairman comes as follows and says they are 90% effective. What do you mean by effective? A thousand people on a placebo, a thousand people the actual vaccine, and it’s 90% effective on all 2000? No, it’s not going to talk about it. Because not everyone is going to get Covid out of it. You’re going to get a minority of people. Now, what are we really talking about? Are we talking about people who get the flu, are we talking about people who get symptoms, are we talking about people who develop antibodies? ”
The speaker apparently refers to the announcement by Pfizer’s chairman in November 2020 that the company’s vaccine was at least 90% effective (here). The article describing the Pfizer trial, which has been available since early December, says that 43,448 participants received injections; 21,720 with the vaccine and 21,728 with the placebo (here). Participants are considered COVID-19 if they have significant symptoms as well as a positive laboratory test. There were 8 cases of COVID-19 recorded among people who took the vaccine, compared with 162 cases among those who were given the placebo. In other words, people who received the vaccine became ill with COVID-19 at about 5% of the percentage of people who received the placebo, and therefore the vaccine was considered to be about 95% effective.
Ivermektien
Later in the video, an anonymous person who describes herself as a nurse (51:30) says: “It is known that Ivermectin in particular has reduced the Covid mortality rate by 80%.” The host replies, “And it’s ignored.”
Ivermectin is a drug used to treat parasitic worms (here). While some laboratory tests have indicated that it inhibits COVID-19 in artificial environments (here), it has been contradicted by human trials (here and here).
The 80% reduction in mortality rates quoted in the video appears to be a reference to an unpublished study set out in a YouTube video (here). Although there are (here) theoretical reasons to believe that Ivermectin can treat Covid-19, and there have been promising results (here and here), these papers suggest that more studies are needed before it can be recommended as a treatment, or based on incomplete trials (here).
There are still ongoing trials that could prove or disprove the efficacy of Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 (Ivermectin is not “ignored”; evidence that it is effective as a treatment for COVID-19 has not been published.
Seasonality
After the discussion about Ivermectin, the host says (52.05): “What amazes me is that: the newspaper headlines every January are without a doubt about the crisis in our hospitals, and I’m sure it’s the same in the North and every year it disappears, because that’s what viruses do. They come and they go. So I just do not understand why there is such a rush to get us all vaccinated when it’s all going to go away in three weeks, or – sorry – let’s say six weeks, let’s be pessimistic. ”
The World Health Organization told Reuters in an email: “The virus that causes COVID -19, SARS CoV-2, does not show any seasonal transmission pattern. To take a closer look, go to our WHO panel to see daily and weekly affairs in each country (covid19.who.int). ”
The UK recorded thousands of new COVID-19 cases per day from March to May (here), while the Republic of Ireland saw an increase in cases in March and October (here). Both are currently seeing increases in COVID-19 cases. There is no evidence to suggest that the transmission of the virus will stop without intervention.
VERDICT
Partly false. It is unlikely that young people will become seriously ill due to COVID-19, but some in this age group needed hospital treatment. Vaccination trials involved thousands of participants and COVID-19 cases among volunteers were carefully defined. Ivermectin is not “ignored”; there is no evidence that COVID-19 cases will simply disappear with a seasonal change.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.