Jonnie Irwin died from lung cancer, not COVID-19 vaccines or 'turbo cancer'

By: Christian Haag
February 20 2024

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The image with the false claim being shared on Facebook. Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Edited by Logically Facts

The claim

Posts circulating on social media claim that British television presenter Jonnie Irwin has died of “Turbo Cancer” caused by COVID-19 vaccines. One Facebook post shows an image of Irwin with a COVID vaccination card from the NHS with the caption, “Jonnie Irwin - TV Star Dead Age 50 Shot 3 Times & Boosted as we can see, full of Turbo C.” 

However, the claim is false. Jonnie Irwin died of lung cancer diagnosed in 2020, and there is no such thing as turbo cancer.

In fact
Irwin was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2020 that began in his liver and later spread to his brain. He was given six months to live and went public with his illness after two years, amassing 254,000 followers on Instagram, where he posted regularly about his life and fight against cancer.

On February 2, a post was published on his official Instagram account, Jonnieirwintv, stating that he had passed away due to cancer. The post reads: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Jonnie’s passing. A truly remarkable soul, he fought bravely against cancer with unwavering strength and courage.”

Turbo cancer is an anti-vaccination myth that has been debunked by Logically Facts. There is no medical diagnosis called “turbo cancer” nor any evidence proving that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer.

Dr. David Gorski, surgical oncologist and Managing Editor of Science-Based Medicine, writes that “‘turbo cancer’ isn’t a thing. Oncologists don’t recognize it as a phenomenon, nor do cancer biologists, and if you search for it on PubMed, you won’t find a reference to it. Basically, it’s a clever term coined by antivaxxers to scare you into thinking that COVID-19 vaccines will give you cancer, or at least greatly increase your risk of developing cancer.”

The verdict
Jonnie Irwin did not die from COVID-19 vaccines or “turbo cancer.” He died from lung cancer, which later spread to his brain, and there is no medical term called “turbo cancer.” Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.