Lead Stories Thai - Coronavirus

Fact Check: White Clots Are NOT Linked To mRNA Vaccines

2024-03-06T10:45:04Z

Is there any correlation between mRNA vaccines and the development of white clots? No, that's not true: Research indicates that postmortem white clots, a natural phenomenon in the human body, have been observed for an extended period, predating the development of mRNA vaccines.

The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok posted by @pak_pinn on February 27, 2024, with the caption (translated from Thai to English by Lead Stories staff) that reads:

Is a white clot that is caused by mRNA vaccine similar to saddle blood?

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Mar 4 10:45:04 2024 UTC)

The widely circulated claim (archived here) suggests the discovery of a unique white clot within the human body. This clot, described as resembling a tentacle, was reportedly found in the carotid arteries of individuals either near death or deceased. Allegedly, these individuals had a common denominator: They had all received mRNA vaccines. This comes after Dr. Thiravat Hemachudha, a physician in Thailand, asserted that such clots had not been previously documented in humans and attributed their presence to the administration of mRNA vaccines.

The National Vaccine Institute refuted this claim on February 21, 2024 (archived here), stating that the mRNA vaccine is not linked to white clots. They clarified that these white clots are postmortem blood clots, a natural occurrence in deceased bodies. When circulation ceases, red blood cells settle from plasma due to gravity, and fibrinogen in the blood naturally coagulates, forming white fibrin clots.

Extensive research (archived here) has been conducted on fibrin clots. Researchers have presented images of fibrin clots in tubes following centrifugation, and it has been documented in numerous cases predating the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that clotting is a rare adverse effect of mRNA vaccines (archived here).

Lead Stories has consistently debunked misinformation regarding mRNA vaccine side effects, including blood clots here.

Fact Check: Chinese Scientists Are NOT Experimenting With A New Coronavirus That Could Trigger A New Pandemic

2024-02-08T11:47:45Z

Have Chinese scientists been experimenting with a new coronavirus called GX-P2V that could lead to a new pandemic? No, that's not true: GX-P2V had already been discovered in pangolins in 2017 before the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. A study conducted by Beijing University scientists, released as a pre-print in January 2024, has been misinterpreted, according to one of the authors, who clarified that their research does not prove that GX-P2V is dangerous to humans.

The claim appeared in a video (archived here) that was published on TikTok by @hally264 on January 25, 2024, with a caption, translated from Thai into English by Lead Stories staff, that read:

Have you ever heard about the new coronavirus GX-PV2 that Beijing scientists are experimenting with?

The TikToker also says at the 1:04-minute mark, translated from Thai to English by Lead Stories staff:

We hope it will not spread from the lab and do harm to humans in the world.

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Feb 8 11:47:45 2024 UTC)

According to a report by NDTV World (archived here), China is conducting experiments with a virus called GX-P2V on humanized mice. The report is based on a study by the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, which was published as a preprint on January 4, 2024 (archived here) that has not been peer-reviewed. This study was incorrectly interpreted to suggest that scientists had created a mutation of the coronavirus strain that killed 100 percent of the test animals and could spread to humans. This claim was widely shared on social media, for example in the TikTok video mentioned above.

The authors updated the preprint on January 21, 2024, (archived here) to react to the misinterpretation, and co-author Lihua Song had already explained in a comment on January 17, 2024 (archived here) that the study was largely misinterpreted, and that it does not prove that GX-P2V is dangerous to humans: "The ACE2 humanized mice used in our experiments are unique and do not exist in nature. The outcomes from these tests cannot be applicable to humans," he stated.

Furthermore, the Thai state-owned Anti-Fake News Center confirmed (archived here) that this virus was discovered before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2017, and that there is no risk of a new pandemic due to GX-P2V. It says, translated from Thai to English: "According to this research, the GX-P2V coronavirus is not a new virus and not a new COVID strain."

Fact Check: Chlorine Dioxide Solution Does NOT Remove COVID-19 Vaccine's Toxicity

2024-01-30T08:23:27Z

Does Chlorine Dioxide Solution (CDS) remove COVID-19 vaccine's toxicity from the body? No, that's not true. The Thai Department of Disease Control confirmed that there is no reliable research showing that Chlorine Dioxide Solution or CDS is safe to drink and that it can kill all viruses as claimed. Furthermore, "COVID-19 vaccine's toxicity" is too generic as a definition: Different types of COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in different countries and there is no evidence of a generic "toxicity" in any of the vaccines listed by the WHO.

The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on January 16, 2023. The caption, translated from Thai to English by Lead Stories staff, reads:

Rinse off Covid-19 vaccine's toxicity with CDS

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Jan 26 18:23:27 2024 UTC)

Thailand's Department of Disease Control published a post on its X account (archived here) on October 31, 2023, to warn the public not to share any false information about chlorine dioxide's ability to "detoxify the body from the COVID-19 vaccine." In the caption, as translated by Lead Stories staff, it said that there is no academic research to support or prove that Chlorine Dioxide Solution is safe to drink and that it can kill all viruses.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a press release (archived here) on April 8, 2020, saying, "Despite previous warnings, the FDA is concerned that we are still seeing chlorine dioxide products being sold with misleading claims that they are safe and effective for the treatment of diseases, now including COVID-19. The sale of these products can jeopardize a person's health and delay proper medical treatment."

Chlorine dioxide is mostly used in the cleaning industry. According to webmd.com (archived here), it is used in very small amounts to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi in public water treatment facilities. If it is used at high doses, it can damage red blood cells and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (archived here) states that the COVID-19 vaccines approved in the USA are safe and effective and that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks.

On January 17, 2024, Thailand's Department of Disease Control issued a statement (archived here) to confirm that the approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and reduce the risk of the "long COVID" condition. According to this statement, more than 147 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Thailand since 2021, and only 5 cases of serious side effects from the vaccine were attributed directly to the vaccine.

Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Do NOT Cause Cancer

2023-11-24T11:05:42Z

Do COVID-19 vaccines cause an increase in aggressive forms of cancer? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. Health officials recommend the shots for patients most at risk from coronavirus.

The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on August 4, 2023, under the title (translated from Thai to English by Lead Stories) "Turbo cancer again." It opened:

Why do people get weak easily?

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Nov 16 17:46:42 2023 UTC)

The video claims that many famous people got cancer very quickly, allegedly because of the vaccine, called "turbo cancer."

The claim originated from a family practitioner, Dr. Charles Hoffe, who has become a leading Canadian anti-vaccine activist. He claimed in 2022 that he had observed a dramatic increase in stage 4 cancer diagnoses after administering the COVID vaccine.

"New cancers are being diagnosed, the tumors are bigger than ever, they seem to grow very aggressively, spread very aggressively, and are very resistant to treatment. So this is nicknamed 'turbo cancer,'" Hoffe has said on his social network.

Hoffe talked about his views on an online show called "Good Morning CHD," shared on R umble by Children's Health Defense, which was banned from Facebook in 2022 for spreading misinformation about COVID. Hoffe also claimed in 2021 that the vaccine caused heart damage and in 2023 that the vaccine increased the risk of contracting COVID.

"Turbo cancer" is unproven and is backed by no scientific evidence. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a cancer treatment and research institution in New York City, writes, "None of the vaccines interact with or alter your DNA in any way. They cannot cause cancer. There is no truth to the myth that somehow the COVID-19 vaccine could inactivate the genes that suppress tumors."

Many organizations, such as the National Cancer Institute, have confirmed that there are no vaccines, including COVID vaccines, that make cancer therapy less effective and that cancer patients are also able to receive vaccines safely.

The World Health Organization continues to recommend that public get COVID vaccines and confirms that they are safe.

Fact Check: Video Does NOT Prove Pfizer Comirnaty Causes Sudden Deaths -- Tested Science Proves Vaccine Safe, Effective

2023-04-29T19:30:11Z

Did Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla "admit" Comirnaty fails to block transmission of COVID-19 and causes many young people to die suddenly? No, that's not true: Those words are put in his mouth by anti-vaccine activists in this video and they contradict the findings of initial and follow-up safety studies accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization, as well as by subsequent monitoring of tens of millions of people vaccinated against COVID-19.

The claims appear in a January 25, 2023, TikTok video (archived here) on the @blue_lemon.soda account. The caption begins "CEO of Pfizer" and continues (according to a translation by Lead Stories staff):

...which created an mRNA vaccine that caused many young people to die suddenly, is asked about the dangers of the Pfizer CoVid vaccine, which made him tens of millions of dollars, but caused sudden death in people who took the vaccine ...

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Sat Apr 29 18:19:17 2023 UTC)

The TikTok video include a mix of claims made in its caption, including claims made in a video clip of a "Rebel News" team's ambush interview filmed in Davos, Switzerland. In the clip, anti-vaccine activists posing as journalists make false claims in the form of questions and Bourla does not answer, nor agree.

The claims the Rebel News interviewer makes regarding the purported failure of vaccines to block transmission are part of a global anti-vaccine campaign fostered by EU parliament member and Dutch politician Rob Roos. Roos took the fact that transmission-blocking is not part of the pre-release testing protocol for vaccines and turned it into an "admission" that the vaccine doesn't work, as explained in this prior Lead Stories fact check of Roos' claim.

The "sudden deaths" narrative, promoted worldwide by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and other debunked anti-vaccine activists, uses fake data and pre-COVID video and has not been borne out by scientific research in peer-reviewed journals by experts in the field of vaccinology.

Some versions of the "sudden deaths" story are illogically based on non-relevant hospital billing data, while others make erroneous claims by misusing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that show the opposite of what Kennedy, Rebel News, Roos and others claim. People are statistically safer taking the vaccine than not taking it.

In an April 23, 2023 email to Lead Stories, the CDC points to statistics that show vaccination can be credited with net economic benefits totaling trillions of dollars. Public Affairs Specialist Lisa George said, "COVID-19 vaccines are the best tool to prevent and reduce complications due to COVID-19." She continued:

Data from just the first year of the vaccine's use suggest approximately 25.32 million cases, 1.38 million hospitalizations, and 213,000 deaths were averted because of vaccination. Additionally, the total health benefits are estimated at $2.95 trillion, including reductions in deaths ($2.45 trillion), hospitalizations ($354.14 billion), and cases ($139.96 billion).

Anti-vaccine groups have not provided independent, credible data in support of their claims.