The Claim:
Anti-vaccine Twitter claims that a purported 500% increase in AIDS cases among U.S. military personnel was caused by the COVID vaccine.
The Facts:
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, was first identified more than 40 years ago—long before COVID vaccines existed. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which damages your immune system. AIDS is a sexually transmitted infection that can also spread through contact with infected blood or passed from mother to child. HIV progressively weakens your immune system until AIDS develops. By contrast, vaccines don’t weaken your immunity; they stimulate an immune response.
This twitter claim also wildly exaggerates a slight (30%) increase in military HIV diagnoses from 2020 to 2021; from 2021 to 2022, military HIV infections decreased by nearly 60%. These AIDS cases in the military—along with all AIDS cases everywhere else—are caused by HIV, and not by the COVID vaccine.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved too since this was originally posted. Be sure to check out our most recent posts and browse the latest Just the Facts Topics for the latest.
Just the Facts Newsletter:
Correcting this week's disinformation
Sign up to get a weekly look at the latest vaccination facts as we debunk the latest false vaccination claims making the rounds on the internet.