A disinformation website is taking a 2020 press release out of context to falsely claim Americans may get vaccinated against COVID-19 without their knowledge.
"Johns Hopkins University Confirms: You Can Be 'Vaccinated' with a PCR Test, Even Without Knowing," reads the title of the Feb. 16 article posted by the Centre for Research on Globalization, a Montreal-based group.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are among the most accurate for diagnosing coronavirus cases. However, they have previously been the subject of misinformation online, where some have falsely claimed they're inaccurate and confuse viruses.
Despite the foreign domain, social media users in the U.S. have shared the link on Facebook and Twitter. In a 2020 report, the State Department characterized the Centre for Research on Globalization as a Russia-affiliated "source of anti-U.S. and anti-Western disinformation and propaganda."
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The authorless article cites as evidence a November 2020 Johns Hopkins news release regarding a medical device for releasing drugs into the body through the gastrointestinal system. It doesn't support the claim that PCR tests can be used to vaccinate people against COVID-19, which health experts have debunked.
USA TODAY reached out to the website that posted the article for comment.
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