FACT CHECK: The WhatsApp message claiming vaccinated people will die in 2 years is FAKE

A WhatsApp message has gone viral, causing alarm and dispondency, after it had claims that people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be dead in two years.

The claims are attributed to Nobel Prize winning French virologist, Luc Montagnier.

In one of the different formats of the message, the claim is that:

1. There is no hope for survival for those vaccinated against the disease and ‘we should be ready to incinerate the bodies’.
2. Death will be from ‘antibodies dependent enhancement.’ (ADE)
3. The vaccine will cause variants

First of all, Montaignier did not say that people will be dead in two years.

According to thenewsminute, the fake message was linked to a report in LifeSiteNews, which is a Canadian far-right anti-abortion advocacy and news publication. Just earlier this month, the website was banned by Facebook for spreading misinformation on COVID-19. Snopes.com, a fact-checking resource, has previously described the website as “a known purveyor of misleading information.”

LifeSiteNews attributed its claim to an article published on the website of RAIR Foundation, a US-based NGO “to combat the threats from Islamic supremacists, radical leftists and their allies.” 

Variants are always expected when a new virus comes out and ther

Montaignier won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), in 2008. A year after his nomination, he claimed that a good immune system was enough to protect people against AIDS. He is known for being anti-vaccination, pro-homoeopathy, and believes that “water has memory”.

But the bigger thing is that Montaignier never said people would be dead in two years after taking the vaccine. Much like his wild statements before, this one would have made massive media news and attention.

On the issue of ADE, it remains a phenomenon in which virus-specific antibodies enhance the entry of the virus, and in some cases, the replication of the virus. In essence, it is quite rare.

The official Twitter handle of the Press Information Bureau’s fact check account has also clarified that this message is fake. “An image allegedly quoting a French Nobel Laureate on #COVID19 vaccines is circulating on social media. The claim in the image is #FAKE. #COVID19 Vaccine is completely safe. Do not forward this image,”

So, while Montaignier is not a fan of vaccines, he has not said those jabbed will be dead in two years.

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