Video Makes Bogus Claims About ‘War Crimes’ and COVID-19 Vaccine Safety
Quick Take
A video falsely claims that people receiving authorized COVID-19 vaccines are taking part in a deadly clinical trial and that those administering the doses are war criminals under the Nuremberg Code. That’s bogus. People getting the vaccines, which have been shown to be safe and effective, consent to receive them and aren’t participating in research.
Full Story
A popular video from a British conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist makes a slew of false claims about government-authorized COVID-19 vaccines, including the incorrect notion that they are “experimental” and that the clinicians administering them are violating the Nuremberg Code.
That’s wrong on both counts. While phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccines are continuing as planned to collect additional data, that doesn’t mean the immunizations are experimental or that people who are now getting vaccinated are participating in a trial.
Moreover, nothing about the Nuremberg Code applies to the situation, as people getting the vaccines are doing so as part of their own medical care, not research. They also consent to receive the jabs and information about the vaccines is widely available.
The video also baselessly claims that the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous and tantamount to a “global genocide,” citing deaths that have not been proven to be from vaccines.
The claims are made in a 15-minute video by Dr. Vernon Coleman, a former general practitioner in the U.K. who is no longer registered to practice medicine. Coleman has a history of peddling discredited medical information and has argued that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax and that AIDS does not exist.
The video has been shared on multiple Facebook pages and appears on various websites, including a site run by Charlie Ward, a man who has previously made false claims about COVID-19 vaccines.
The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines for use during and
