The Claim:
A viral anti-vaccine film is branching out with a claim that COVID vaccines can cause Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the WHO knew it and kept it secret.
The Facts:
The World Health Organization (WHO) does keep a database where the latest global research on COVID can be found. Any research can be listed in the database, and the disclaimer on the site cautions that having an entry in the database “does not mean that WHO endorses or recommends those publications or sites, or has verified the content contained within them.”
An abstract for a conference presentation about research that examined two recent cases of MS was posted on the WHO database. It was not a peer-reviewed research paper, just a preliminary case report. Even the authors do not claim that the COVID vaccine is a causal link, stressing that more studies would need to be done to determine if there is any link and that COVID itself is more likely to be associated with autoimmune issues.
While the theory that vaccines could induce an autoimmune disease such as MS may make some logical sense because vaccines involve our immune systems, studies of various vaccines have not shown any connection to MS. Over 13 billion doses of COVID vaccines have been given worldwide.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved since this was originally posted. Browse the latest information posted in Just the Facts Topics.
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