As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect Brazil and the world, many rumors and misinformation about the vaccines have spread across social media. To clarify some of these misconceptions, here are some fake news and truths about the Covid-19 vaccine:

TRUE: Children from the age of six months should be vaccinated against Covid.

Vaccines against the disease have been proven to be safe and effective in children and infants, protecting them against severe disease and sequelae. In September 2022, Anvisa authorized Covid-19 vaccination from the age of six months.

The CoronaVac vaccine can be administered to children from the age of three, while the Pfizer Baby vaccine can be administered to infants from six months of age.

FALSE: Creator of mRNA vaccines says they are not safe.

American doctor Robert Malone is not responsible for the development of this type of vaccine. Furthermore, all Covid-19 vaccines authorized for use in the population are proven to be safe and effective. A video circulating on social media shows the doctor during a speech to an anti-vaccine group, with false subtitles stating that the vaccines do not work.

FALSE: Italian scientist investigating graphene in Covid vaccines died under suspicious circumstances.

Domenico Biscardi is a supposed Italian scientist who has published several videos with false information about vaccines. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, he has posed as a doctor, tried to sell false cancer treatments, and even been arrested for criminal association in 2005. False news claims that he had "definitive evidence" against vaccines and died suddenly.

FALSE: Director of the WHO has not yet been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Tedros Adhanon received the vaccine on May 12, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland, as shown in a photo released by him on his Twitter account. The false message circulating on social media was a cut and out of context statement in which Tedros said that although he had the opportunity to receive the vaccine in December 2020, he chose to vaccinate himself only in May 2021, at the same time as health professionals in Ethiopia, his country of origin. It was a form of protest against global inequality in vaccine distribution.

FALSE: Deaths of three Canadian hospital doctors are related to Covid-19 vaccine.

The health professionals at Trillium Health Hospital mentioned in the rumor died from other diseases and not from receiving the fourth dose of the vaccine. The deaths have no relation to the vaccine, as informed by the hospital on its official social media. Two of the doctors had cancer, and the third was seriously ill.

FALSE: WHO estimates that vaccines will reduce the world population by 15%.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not published any analysis with such a conclusion. The entity frequently emphasizes, as well as other institutions in the scientific community, that Covid-19 vaccines are proven to be safe and beneficial. The first vaccine was created in the 18th century, and since then, vaccination has saved thousands of lives against various diseases.

FALSE: Tennis player's injury was caused by vaccination.

During a match in March 2022, tennis player Rafael Nadal felt shortness of breath. Some social media users associated this fact with the athlete's vaccination against Covid-19. This is a lie: there is no connection between SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and shortness of breath. Nadal himself posted on his social media that he was examined by his medical team and that the shortness of breath was due to a fissure in the third left rib arch caused by the stress of the tennis player.

FACT: The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was produced quickly because there was already a vaccine against the SARS-CoV virus under study.

About ten years ago, China faced an outbreak of a coronavirus in the same family as SARS-CoV, known as the SARS-CoV virus. Since this virus was not as infectious, the research to develop a vaccine was not as accelerated. However, this research served as a starting point for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The knowledge gained from this research was applied to the development of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which allowed for a faster and more efficient development process.