Canadian data misused to make false claims about Covid-19 vaccines

"Canadian Gov't Admit 74% of Triple Vaccinated Now Have VAIDS," says the headline of an October 1, 2023 article from The People's Voice, a website AFP has repeatedly fact-checked for promoting false and misleading claims.

The report is based on another story from The Expose with the headline: "Government of Canada data is truly terrifying; suggesting the Triple Vaccinated have developed 'AIDS' & are now 5.1x more likely to die of Covid-19 than the Unvaccinated."

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Screenshot from The People's Voice taken October 6, 2023

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Screenshot from The Expose taken October 6, 2023

 

Additional articles and screenshots of their claims spread across platforms, including Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook -- including in French. Brexit party politician Jim Ferguson amplified the claim on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The posts are the latest in a flood of misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, which health authorities around the world continue to recommend to prevent death and severe illness.

"These claims are false," Health Canada said in a statement emailed to AFP on October 5, 2023.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), on the other hand, is a chronic condition caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said October 10 that it "would not be possible for a Covid-19 vaccine to cause AIDS," as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) shots do not use a live virus to trigger an immune response and viral vector jabs include "a harmless virus (in this case, an adenovirus) as a delivery system."

"To date, no reports of AIDS following Covid-19 vaccines have been submitted to PHAC," the agency said by email.

What is VAIDS?

Independent experts say VAIDS is not a real condition.

AFP first reported on the term "vaccine-acquired immune deficiency syndrome" in 2021 after the group America's Frontline Doctors included it in a false article.

At the time, Jason McKnight, clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine, told AFP: "There is no such thing as vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or VAIDS."

The same holds true in 2023.

"There is no VAIDS," said Rachel Roper, professor of microbiology and immunology at East Carolina University, in an October 5 email. "All data worldwide show that Covid vaccines save lives and do not increase deaths."

Articles misinterpret data

To support their claims, the articles analyzed government data on the number of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Canada in January and February 2022 -- when the Omicron variant was circulating widely.

What Canada's data actually shows is that the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines wanes over time and that the initial jabs were less effective against Omicron.

"Evidence suggests that while two doses of vaccine may not provide good protection against getting infected, a two-dose primary series still provides good protection against hospitalization," PHAC said in a January 2022 statement (archived here).

"Encouragingly, the latest evidence indicates that a third dose improves protection against both infection and hospitalization due to the Omicron variant."

More recently, PHAC told AFP in its October 10 email that it had not received reports from international regulators or other health authorities that vaccines can suppress the immune system.

"With billions of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered to individuals across the world, real-world data strongly suggest that Covid-19-vaccinated individuals are not immunocompromised following vaccination," PHAC said.

Canada recommends a primary series of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines to individuals six months and older. A first booster dose is recommended for those older than five.

"Booster doses provides (sic) additional protection, including against severe disease," Health Canada says on its website (archived here). "However, the duration of protection is currently unknown, and the absolute benefit of additional booster doses will depend on the residual protection from the previous booster dose and on the level of circulating disease in the community."

More of AFP's reporting on vaccine misinformation is available here.