Fake News: COVID-19 Vaccine
Introduction
I chose to evaluate the article “Will mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Wreak’ Havoc on The Lungs’ in 4 to 14 Months?” from Snopes, a claim made by Sherri Tenpenny. An anti-vaccine activist made this article, so it is not very unbiased. Although Sherri Tenpenny is a doctor, she still has her own opinions and uses them to persuade an audience into believing her believes. This particular claim is that the COVID-19 vaccine will cause a “potentially fatal immune reaction.” However, this claim is not true based on proven scientific research and information; therefore, this is merely fake news.
Research Results
Tenpenny is known for believing in conspiracies about Bill Gates having world-domination plans through chemtrails and vaccine microchips. Knowing this information, many will already be skeptical of believing what Tenpenny has to say. The Snopes fact-checking article states that
“Tenpenny relies almost exclusively on two papers discussing those efforts to make her case against the COVID-19 vaccine: a 2019 study on SARS and MERS vaccination efforts, and a 2012 study on immunopathology caused by SARS vaccines in laboratory animals.”
This means that Tenpenny is not doing substantial research to prove her ideas, and she is only looking at information that could support them. Furthermore, Tenpenny ignored evidence that proves her claims false.
Essentially, Tenpenny states that the COVID-19 vaccine brings non-neutralizing antibodies and a Th-2 biased response. However, she clearly ignores evidence that proves precisely that the
“mRNA vaccines induce strongly neutralizing antibodies and a Th-1 biased response” (Kasprak).
A Th-2 immune biased response could result in what Tenpenny claims, but the mRNA vaccine proves a Th-1 biased response.
Information on the vaccine:
How does the vaccine work?
Information from CDC states that
“Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection, but with all types of vaccines, the body is left with a supply of ‘memory’ T-lymphocytes as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus in the future.”
Essentially, the vaccine is helping our body to build immunity to the virus. Since it helps build immunity, it is common to experience some side effects, but it is not known to experience anything fatal like what Tenpenny is claiming.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/how-they-work.html
Side effects of the vaccine:
It is early in the COVID-19 vaccine timeline, so it can be hard to determine long-term side effects. Regardless, the commonly experienced side effects of the vaccine include fever, muscle aches, bad headaches, and fatigue after getting the shot.
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/covid-19/vaccine/faq
Some people have been skeptical of the vaccine because of fake news like this; however, the vaccine is an essential step for America to get closer to getting through this pandemic. Many people like Sherri Tenpenny use big words and medical terminology to scare the audience into believing what they have to say. She uses this and limited research the try to prove her claims. Regardless, Tenpenny ignored evidence and continued to spread false news. It is crucial for us to carefully review information like this so that we are not falsely informed or continue to spread fake news.