Fake news stories about Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier have been circulating around WhatsApp. The fabrications have him claiming that all vaccinated individuals will die within the next 2 years.
There was a time when such a news report could be published and ridiculed without any explanation. Sadly, we live in a time where the anti-vaccination movement is growing, slowly but surely. Be it in the form of COVID deniers refusing to wear a mask, or panicky parents shouting about mercury in the vaccine doses, there are skeptics. What should be stated, however, is that skepticism not backed by scientifically backed evidence is baseless. More than just that, it also invalidates all of the risk essential workers are putting themselves through by working throughout a pandemic. Your doctors and nurses did not go through years of medical school, only to be told that the vaccines are a worldwide hoax.
Annoyances aside, let's really examine this claim. Luc Montagnier, a Nobel prize laureate famous for his discovery of the HIV virus has been associated with COVID-19 conspiracy theories. The French virologist claimed in an interview that the virus was not natural, and in fact was synthesized in a laboratory. We could discuss how unfounded such claims are, and also bring up letters written by the scientific community condemning Montagnier for tarnishing his own Nobel prize. However, that would stay from the point. Instead, let's make one thing clear: at no point either during the interview or following it did Luc Montagnier ever claim that the vaccines are harmful. There is no evidence tying these claims back to the man. This is simply an attempt by anti-vaxxers jumping on a similar bandwagon to promote their own agendas.
Nevermind the fact that many officials and leaders across the world have been vaccinated. Nevermind that according to this theory, these very echelons of power seem to be "out of the loop", and will die in the next two years. The anti vaccination movement would rather stay content in their pipe dream of a belief that this worldwide vaccination conspiracy is correct. That despite many nations displaying hostility against one another, they all united over the front of infecting the populace with vaccines. It's an absurd conclusion that shatters with just a minimal amount of mental prodding. While the author of this article will apologies for the hostile tone they're taking, some amount of infuriation is warranted. Many people are dying over the world, or suffering from irreversible effects of a very contagious virus. But this group of individuals would choose to drown them out by creating as much senseless noise as possible, serving no agenda other than self-satisfaction.
At any rate, we encourage everyone reading to not forward this message around. If they encounter such a message, we encourage them to at least inform the sender about the harm they're causing. The COVID-19 pandemic is no joke. Vaccination may be the only way to avoid the disease becoming effectively endemic. We cannot falter at this leg of the race.
Read next: WhatsApp Agrees to Not Block Users in India for Not Accepting the New Privacy Policy but Has Also Filed a Lawsuit Against the Government for Pressurizing Them to Reveal User Information
There was a time when such a news report could be published and ridiculed without any explanation. Sadly, we live in a time where the anti-vaccination movement is growing, slowly but surely. Be it in the form of COVID deniers refusing to wear a mask, or panicky parents shouting about mercury in the vaccine doses, there are skeptics. What should be stated, however, is that skepticism not backed by scientifically backed evidence is baseless. More than just that, it also invalidates all of the risk essential workers are putting themselves through by working throughout a pandemic. Your doctors and nurses did not go through years of medical school, only to be told that the vaccines are a worldwide hoax.
Annoyances aside, let's really examine this claim. Luc Montagnier, a Nobel prize laureate famous for his discovery of the HIV virus has been associated with COVID-19 conspiracy theories. The French virologist claimed in an interview that the virus was not natural, and in fact was synthesized in a laboratory. We could discuss how unfounded such claims are, and also bring up letters written by the scientific community condemning Montagnier for tarnishing his own Nobel prize. However, that would stay from the point. Instead, let's make one thing clear: at no point either during the interview or following it did Luc Montagnier ever claim that the vaccines are harmful. There is no evidence tying these claims back to the man. This is simply an attempt by anti-vaxxers jumping on a similar bandwagon to promote their own agendas.
Nevermind the fact that many officials and leaders across the world have been vaccinated. Nevermind that according to this theory, these very echelons of power seem to be "out of the loop", and will die in the next two years. The anti vaccination movement would rather stay content in their pipe dream of a belief that this worldwide vaccination conspiracy is correct. That despite many nations displaying hostility against one another, they all united over the front of infecting the populace with vaccines. It's an absurd conclusion that shatters with just a minimal amount of mental prodding. While the author of this article will apologies for the hostile tone they're taking, some amount of infuriation is warranted. Many people are dying over the world, or suffering from irreversible effects of a very contagious virus. But this group of individuals would choose to drown them out by creating as much senseless noise as possible, serving no agenda other than self-satisfaction.
At any rate, we encourage everyone reading to not forward this message around. If they encounter such a message, we encourage them to at least inform the sender about the harm they're causing. The COVID-19 pandemic is no joke. Vaccination may be the only way to avoid the disease becoming effectively endemic. We cannot falter at this leg of the race.
Read next: WhatsApp Agrees to Not Block Users in India for Not Accepting the New Privacy Policy but Has Also Filed a Lawsuit Against the Government for Pressurizing Them to Reveal User Information