The declare: COVID-19 brought on by snake venom, not by a virus
Conspiracy theories about COVID-19 have swirled because it first appeared on the finish of 2019, however social media customers have taken the claims to new heights.
“Corona was NEVER a virus,” learn an April 12 Facebook post that was shared greater than 50 occasions inside two weeks. “(It) is Cobra venom.”
The idea has unfold extensively within the wake of a documentary called “Watch the Water,” which claims that COVID-19 is definitely snake venom that’s contracted by ingesting water, vaccines and remdesivir, a Meals and Drug Administration-approved therapy for the virus. The movie has racked up tons of of 1000’s of views because it was launched on April 11.
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However that is nonsense.
Researchers world wide have confirmed COVID-19 is brought on by a virus unfold primarily by shut contact with different individuals. Vaccines and coverings used to fight the virus have publicly-available ingredient lists, none of which point out venomous components.
USA TODAY reached out to the consumer who posted the declare for remark.
Venom concept is ‘not in keeping with any medical information,’ professional says
In line with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, COVID-19 is a respiratory disease brought on by SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus found in 2019. The virus spreads primarily from individual to individual by respiratory droplets.
The World Health Organization and John Hopkins Medicine are among the many numerous organizations which have confirmed the identical as researchers across the globe labored to check COVID-19 and develop vaccines and coverings.
Dr. Frank LoVecchio, medical director of Arizona State College’s Faculty of Well being Options, mentioned the declare that the virus is snake venom is “absurd” and “not in keeping with any medical information, any medical reality, any medical journal.”
The declare that the virus is snake venom has been debunked by varied shops together with FactCheck.org, PolitiFact and Lead Stories.
LoVecchio, who beforehand served as co-medical director of Banner Poison and Drug Info Middle and has spent years studying snakes, informed USA TODAY that he searched peer-reviewed research to search out the place the declare might come from.
The one correlation he might discover, he mentioned, is that levels of Phospholipase A2 might be elevated in both COVID-19 and snakebite patients. Nonetheless, LoVecchio added that Phospholipase A2 is a “very, very nonspecific marker of irritation” and that elevated ranges can happen in varied different circumstances, comparable to an ankle sprain or coronary heart assault.
“Sure, it is a virus,” LoVecchio mentioned of COVID-19.
He added there are “zero possibilities” snake venom is within the COVID-19 vaccine.
Ingredient lists for each of the FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines are available on the CDC’s website. Remdesivir has been examined and authorised for therapy of COVID-19 by the FDA, which lists its ingredients on its web site.
Reality test: Fauci’s 2004 comments on flu vaccine, natural immunity taken out of context
The origin of the virus has been arduous to pinpoint. U.S. intelligence businesses have mentioned they will not have the ability to definitively conclude whether or not the virus was unfold by animal-to-human transmission or leaked from a lab, the Associated Press reported in October 2021. However no reputable scientific organizations say COVID-19 is something however a virus.
Documentary creators have historical past of COVID-19 misinformation
The snake venom claims stem from “Watch the Water,” an interview between far-right radio present host Stew Peters and Bryan Ardis, a former chiropractor. Within the movie, Ardis says mRNA is being extracted from king cobra venom and put into people in an effort to “make you a hybrid of Devil,” according to PolitiFact, which gave the claims a “Pants on Fireplace” ranking.
The documentary’s title is a nod to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, which hinges on the idea {that a} “deep state” equipment operated by political, enterprise and leisure elites was working to undermine then-President Donald Trump.
Each males concerned have a historical past of disseminating misinformation about COVID-19.
Ardis falsely claimed in 2021 that COVID-19 vaccine producers had the flexibility to vary vaccine formulation following their preliminary rollout whereas they have been underneath an emergency use authorization. And false claims that the COVID-19 vaccines are magnetic have been pushed on The Stew Peters Present in 2021.
Our ranking: False
Primarily based on our analysis, we fee FALSE the declare that COVID-19 is brought on by snake venom. The idea shouldn’t be in keeping with present medical information, which is that COVID-19 is brought on by a virus unfold primarily by shut contact with different individuals. The false declare was taken from a recently-released documentary that’s tied to the baseless QAnon conspiracy concept, and its hosts have beforehand unfold misinformation surrounding COVID-19.
Our fact-check sources:
- CDC, accessed Might 15, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- CDC, accessed Might 15, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Ingredients
- CDC, accessed Might 15, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Ingredients
- CDC, accessed Might 15, Johnson & Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Ingredients
- EPA, accessed Might 15, Coronavirus and Drinking Water and Wastewater
- Dr. Frank LoVecchio, April 28, Cellphone interview with USA TODAY
- PolitiFact, April 19, Stew Peters film ‘Watch the Water’ ridiculously claims COVID-19 is snake venom. That’s Pants on Fire
- FactCheck.org, April 18, COVID-19 Is Caused By a Virus, Not Snake Venom
- Lead Tales, April 13, Fact Check: COVID-19 IS A Virus, NOT Snake Venom Being Used to Poison, Turn People Into Satanic Hybrids
- Related Press, Oct. 29, 2021, Lab leak or animal transmission? US intelligence won’t likely determine COVID-19 origins, report says
- Journal of Medical Investigation, Oct. 1, 2021, Group IIA secreted phospholipase A2 is associated with the pathobiology leading to COVID-19 mortality
- USA TODAY, Sept. 24, 2021, Fact check: False claim that COVID-19 vaccine ingredients and formulas have changed since rollout
- USA TODAY, June 21, 2021, Fact check: COVID-19 vaccines aren’t magnetic
- USA TODAY, Feb. 9, 2021, Fact check: ‘Deep state’ theory makes false claims about martial law, arrests, pandemic
- FDA, Oct. 22, 2020, Remdesivir ingredient list
- Toxins, Dec. 17, 2013, Secreted Phospholipases A2 of Snake Venoms
- Cardiovascular Medication and Remedy, Oct. 14, 2008, Biology of Secretory Phospholipase A2
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