The Covid-19 vaccine programme isn’t a medical experiment

This article was published before the MHRA announced a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a very rare type of blood clot, which can be fatal. It was correct at the time of writing. Our latest fact checks about Covid-19 and the pandemic can be found here.

People delivering the Covid-19 vaccination programme do not have to tell patients that they are taking part in a medical experiment, as a post on Facebook falsely claims.

The vaccination programme is not an experiment. The three Covid vaccines currently approved for use in the UK have already been shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials.

It’s normal that authorities continue to monitor the safety of these vaccines even after they have been approved. This monitoring happens with all vaccines, including those that have been in use for years, to detect any adverse effects. Just because studies into these vaccines are continuing, doesn’t mean anyone getting the vaccine in the nationwide roll-out is part of an experiment.

People delivering the vaccines do not risk trial for “war crimes”, as the post claims. This seems to be a reference to the Nuremberg code, which says that a subject’s voluntary consent is essential in experiments. But as we have said, the roll out of the vaccine is not an experiment. Each patient is already required to give informed consent to receive a vaccine . We have written about a similar claim before.

The post also includes the address of the VAERS website, which it falsely claims will provide “a current list of damage and death caused by Covid 19 vaccines”.

As we have said before, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) compiles a list for the US of reported incidents that took place after vaccination, not necessarily because of it. 

At the moment, thousands of people around the world are being given Covid vaccines every day. If someone gets ill or dies shortly after being vaccinated, this does not necessarily mean the vaccine caused it. 

As of 7 February, 173 deaths following Covid vaccination had been reported in the UK—none of which were caused by the vaccine.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says: “The majority of these reports were in elderly people or people with underlying illness... Review of individual reports and patterns of reporting does not suggest the vaccine played a role in the death.”