Vaccines against Covid-19 were not banned, contrary to what the post says – 02/06/2023 – Health

It is a false post with a video excerpt in which journalist Alexandre Garcia claims that the Ministry of Health “is now warning that there is a danger of thrombosis in Janssen and Astrazeneca vaccines” and that Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) has stopped producing the latter. One of the publications circulating with the recording uses the caption “Vaccines are banned now? And who has already taken them?”. Not even Garcia talks about an alleged “ban”, as the author of the post did.

The journalist, as verified by the Comprova Project, takes information out of context by saying that the ministry belatedly warned about the “danger” of immunizers causing thrombosis. The agency has always defended the use of vaccines and has never linked them to “danger”. What happened was that, as early as April 2021 —and not now—, the ministry published a technical note on possible cases of STT (Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia Syndrome) associated with the vaccine. More recently, in December last year, considering rare cases of the disease abroad, the Ministry of Health changed the recommendation of Astrazeneca, produced by Fiocruz, and Janssen, starting to indicate them for people from 40 years old. According to the document, the incidence of TTS occurrence is quite variable among different countries, with estimates ranging from 0.2 to 3.8 cases per 100,000 doses administered.

The change does not mean that the vaccine is not safe, which the agency reinforced in a note from April this year, in which it guarantees the safety and effectiveness of Astrazeneca and highlights that it was approved by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) and the WHO (World Health Organization).

False, for Comprova, is content that was invented or that has been edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disseminated to spread a falsehood.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. A TikTok user who shared the video on May 29 got, in 24 hours, 18,700 likes and 16,700 shares. On Kwai, there are no recent publications of the video, but one of them, made on April 14, had been watched, until June 2, 91.5 thousand times.

How do we check

Comprova did a Google search for information about the alleged ban on vaccines and found a note from Anvisa explaining that none of the vaccines approved by the agency had been unauthorized.

Through Technical Notes and Epidemiological Bulletins issued by the Ministry of Health, we checked information on events supposedly attributed to vaccines.

We also consulted articles that came out in professional press vehicles and in checking agencies about the change in the recommendation for the use of the Astrazeneca and Janssen vaccines.

Verification

The video

Content similar to the one investigated here had already circulated in April. The posts now use an excerpt from a video published on Alexandre Garcia’s YouTube channel on April 13, when the Ministry of Health published a recommendation guaranteeing the safety and effectiveness of Astrazeneca and reinforcing that it was approved by Anvisa and the WHO.

Entitled “Lula doesn’t know why the dollar is the standard currency”, the 14-minute and 16-second video deals with other subjects, such as the economy, Bolsa Família and André do Rap’s trial. From 12 minutes and 17 seconds, misinformation about vaccines against Covid.

Vaccines have not been banned

Anvisa explained in a note, published on April 13, that none of the vaccines against Covid-19 approved by the municipality has been prohibited or unauthorized.

The document informs that the agency is “responsible for analyzing the applications submitted by pharmaceutical companies in order to verify that the data and technical information guarantee the efficacy, safety and quality of vaccines”.

Anvisa approved immunizers produced by Pfizer, Butantan, Janssen and Fiocruz/AstraZeneca and granted authorization for exceptional export of Sputnik immunizer. That is, the message inserted in the video (“They banned vaccines, what now? And who has already taken them?”) is not true.

Nonstop

On April 14, Fiocruz, responsible for the production of the Astrazeneca vaccine in the country, issued a note explaining that manufacturing had not been stopped, that the vaccine is safe and effective and that “possible serious adverse effects, such as of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, are extremely rare”.

According to the Epidemiological Bulletin, published by the Ministry of Health, from January 18, 2021 to June 18, 2022, 16 deaths resulting from Esavi (Events Supposedly Attributable to Vaccination or Immunization) were recorded, whose cause was the vaccine applied (12 by Astrazeneca/Fiocruz and 4 by Janssen). “It should be noted that the 16 deaths with a confirmed causal relationship correspond to 1 case in every 20 million doses applied”, explains the document.

Even with the record of these rare cases, Anvisa maintained the recommendation to continue vaccination with the Astrazeneca and Janssen vaccines, as it understands that the benefits of the products outweigh their risks.

There was, however, in December 2022, a suggestion by the Ministry of Health that such immunizers be applied preferentially to people over 40 years of age.

Cases

In the video targeted by this check, Alexandre Garcia accuses the Ministry of Health of warning only now (referring to April 2023) that the vaccines supposedly caused thrombosis. This is not true. At least since April 2021, the Ministry of Health has provided guidance on the identification, investigation and management of TTS (Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia Syndrome) in the context of vaccination against Covid-19 in Brazil.

On April 22, 2021, the folder issued Technical Note No. 441/2021 on the subject. The recommendations were updated on August 4, 2021 with the publication of Technical Note No. 933.

More recently, on December 31, 2022, considering the rare events in European countries and in Australia and the United States of TTS after vaccination, the Ministry of Health updated the recommendations for the use of Astrazeneca and Janssen. Both are manufactured from a technology known as a viral vector and, according to the document, it would be recommended that they be applied to a certain age group.

In item 3.7 of the note it is written: “Viral vector vaccines are indicated for use in the population from 40 years of age and; in people from 18 to 39 years of age, Covid-19 vaccines from the RNAm, however, in places of difficult access or in the unavailability of the immunization of this platform, viral vector vaccines (Astrazeneca and Janssen) may be used”.

Still on the monitoring carried out by the Ministry of Health, it should be noted that in February 2021, Anvisa, the body responsible for monitoring events related to the use of vaccines and medicines, published the Pharmacovigilance panel on adverse events. Events Supposedly Attributable to Vaccination or Immunization are monitored by the PNI (National Immunization Program). The information system used by the PNI for monitoring post-vaccination events is e-SUS notifica.

Vaccines are not experimental

Alexandre Garcia says that vaccines against Covid-19 were being tested when they were applied to the population. Similar allegations that sought to spread fear about immunizations were frequently denied throughout the pandemic.

In August 2021, for example, Comprova showed that a doctor was mistaken in saying that vaccines against covid were experimental. The article explains that all substances used in Brazil were authorized by Anvisa after being proven to be effective and safe when applied to thousands of volunteers during tests.

The vaccines used to fight the coronavirus have gone through all the necessary testing steps.

What the person responsible for the publication says: It was not possible to talk to the person responsible for the publication, because the content targeted by this check was posted on TikTok and Kwai by users who do not allow the sending of private messages from those who are not followers. The report tried to contact Alexandre Garcia via Instagram, but there was no response until the publication of this text.

What can we learn from this check

One of the tactics of disinformers is to communicate in an alarmist way to get the attention of those who see them. And that’s what the authors of the posts do when they add to the video, which in itself was misleading, the statement that vaccines were banned. They suggest that vaccines could cause health problems by spreading fear.

When you come across content like this, reflect. Health bodies around the world recommend immunizers; after the start of the campaign, cases of deaths began to fall and it was thanks to vaccination that the WHO was able to declare the end of the pandemic health emergency. Considering this, does anti-vaccine content make sense?

It is also important to search the websites of the professional press for reports on the subject. When researching, it would be possible to perceive that it was disinformation, since the Ministry of Health defends the vaccine, guaranteeing its safety and effectiveness.

why do we investigate

Comprova monitors suspicious content posted on social networks and messaging apps about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations for those publications that have achieved greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp +55 11 97045-4984. Suggestions and questions related to questionable content can also be sent to Sheet via WhatsApp 11 99486-0293.

Other checks on the topic

Comprova published a report in the Comprova Explain section in which it details the note from the Ministry of Health and the reason why the recommendation for the use of the Astrazeneca vaccine has changed. Lupa showed that, since 2021, the folder has been accompanying alleged cases of thrombosis in people who have taken vaccines from Janssen and Astrazeneca. UOL Confere showed that it is false that Fiocruz has stopped producing the immunizer.