False: The COVID-19 vaccination drive is government propaganda to instill fear in people.

By: Pallavi Sethi
February 7 2022

Share Article:

There has been a rise in medical disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The anti-vax community threatens to undermine public trust in vaccines. Candace Owens, a Republican commentator with more than five million followers on Facebook, often spreads vaccine misinformation. Recently, she called on her followers to "wake up to the truth" of vaccines. While revealing that she was still unvaccinated, Owens stated that she survived the "greatest psychological fear campaign in human history." Although she is careful not to mention COVID-19 vaccines, it is clear that her post is alluding to the vaccination drive. Her status has received more than 75K views in the last 24 hours (as of October 28, 2021) and has been shared at least 24k times. Owens's claims are unfounded. A growing body of evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines are effective against hospitalizations and deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that vaccinations reduce "the risk of COVID-19 and its potentially severe complications." CNN reported that the vaccinations prevented a quarter of a million deaths in the U.S. between January and May 2021. In addition, the BBC recently reported that the Pfizer vaccine is 90 percent effective while the Oxford vaccine is 91 percent effective. There is no evidence supporting Owens's theory that the vaccination drive is government propaganda to instill fear in people. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.