The article depends on a number of widely circulated but even more widely debunked anti-vaxx myths.
The claim that children “suffer” serious adverse effects from the measles vaccine is unproven but it has been shown that children who contract measles are at much higher risk of severe complications.
No “mRNA-based” measles vaccines are currently administered and vaccine “shedding” is another common anti-vaccine conspiracy theory.
For almost as long as vaccines have existed, so has an anti-vaccination movement, made up of ordinary people or organised groups who oppose the use of some or all vaccines to prevent disease. Often, its claims are based on a fear or misunderstanding of vaccines rather than on accurate information and scientific data.
Earlier this year, Africa Check was alerted toan article claiming that a “mass rollout” of “alleged measles vaccines” in South Africa was having a negative impact on children.
Published by an organisation called Children’s Health Defense (CHD), the article makes a number of false claims, including that the measles vaccine, which is often given to children in schools, is somehow linked to the Covid-19 vaccine.
The claims were shared on TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook by CHD and the author of the article, Shabnam Mohamed. The article has been shared many times by others on social media, sometimes with comments expressing distrust of the South African government or the vaccination of children.
But South Africans should not be...
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