Online concern about bird flu ramps up after U.S. election

This week, vaccine opponents again attempted to link COVID-19 vaccines to “turbo cancer” and blood clots. Regional conversations discussed vaccine mandate exemptions and whooping cough.

Concerns about a potential bird flu pandemic circulated online this week as myths about COVID-19 vaccine safety resurfaced. In the wake of the U.S. presidential election, some social media users shared their fears—and conspiracy theories—about the U.S.’s current and future handling of bird flu. Meanwhile, a group of vaccine opponents published a study using VAERS data to falsely claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause a massive increase in brain blood clots, and false claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety circulated in multiple languages.

Regional posts focused on religious exemptions to employer and medical vaccine requirements, Washington state’s whooping cough outbreak, and dozens of monkeys that escaped a South Carolina research facility.

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What’s trending nationally in vaccine conversation:

Shortly after the U.S. presidential election, the CDC posted about symptoms of H5N1, or bird flu, prompting some social media users to speculate that the agency is forecasting a bird flu pandemic. Several trending posts from pro-vaccine accounts claimed that the CDC “has rapidly” changed its messaging by warning about symptoms instead of emphasizing the relatively low human risk. A narrative has emerged online that this perceived change in messaging is a sign that the bird flu virus is spreading faster than the public is aware and that the CDC waited until people were “distracted” by the election to issue new warnings. One popular post falsely claimed that “the CDC quietly announced H5N1 has likely gone human-to-human transmission.” Meanwhile, reports of Canada’s first suspected human bird flu case stoked fears further, with some commenters pleading with the CDC director to stop “downplaying” bird flu before an “anti-science/anti-health” administration takes over. A former U.S. surgeon general expressed concern that Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine campaign, Make America Healthy Again, might derail efforts to prevent a bird flu pandemic. A general fear that the incoming Trump administration will severely restrict access to or outright ban vaccines of all kinds is circulating online. 

A study published last week falsely claims that “brain clots are 112,000% more likely after COVID-19 vaccination than flu vaccination” and that COVID-19 vaccines are “20,700% more likely to cause brain clots than all vaccines combined.” The study, which was published in a journal that has been flagged as predatory, relies entirely on unverified Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System reports of cerebral thromboembolism, a rare blood clot in the brain, to draw this conclusion. The study’s authors are well-known vaccine opponents, including one whose company sells vaccine “detox” products. After sharing the study on social media, one of the authors called for “an immediate global moratorium on the use of COVID-19 vaccines.” 

Trending social media posts in English and Spanish are promoting the debunked claim that COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for an alarming rise in aggressive, late-stage cancer diagnoses in young people. Some of the claims are in response to an actor who recently revealed his colorectal cancer diagnosis. As with previous claims about high-profile illnesses and deaths, there is no evidence to suggest that the actor’s condition is related to any vaccine. Many posts  repeated conspiracy theories about “toxic” vaccine ingredients and COVID-19 vaccines causing so-called turbo cancer. A popular anti-vaccine social media account shared a video that claims without evidence that there is a rise in teenage girls with stage 4 cancer. Another post claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are “all risk and zero reward.”

Read the fact checks: 

• Today: Will bird flu be the next pandemic and could it cause a lockdown? What experts say 
• University at Buffalo: Big data study refutes anti-vax blood clot claims about COVID-19 vaccines 
• Public Good News: No, COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause ‘turbo cancer’ 

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What’s happening in the Northeast:

A “health freedom” group posted online about a 9-year-old New Jersey boy whose kidney transplant was delayed because his parents refused COVID-19 vaccination on “religious grounds.” The child has reportedly undergone the procedure after a doctor in Pennsylvania agreed to perform the surgery. The post received nearly 80,000 engagements, with people celebrating the victory and accusing doctors who refused him of violating their oath. Some commenters called COVID-19 vaccines “untested,” “fraudulent,” and “poison.”

What’s happening in the South:

On November 6, 43 rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina research facility, prompting local authorities to urge residents to secure their homes and assure the public that the monkeys pose no health risk to humans. As of November 14, 35 of the monkeys have been recovered, and eight remain loose near the facility. The incident sparked widespread debate about animal research on social media, with many criticizing the use of animals for research and others raising concerns about potentially risky medical research. Some of the posts expressed fears about a lab leak-related pandemic and speculated that the release might have been deliberate to introduce a new disease for mass vaccination. Other posts explained the importance of rhesus macaques in medical research, highlighting their role in the development of vaccines and treatments for infections, diabetes, and cancer. 

What’s happening in the Midwest:

A Detroit federal court awarded over $12 million to a former IT specialist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, who was fired after refusing a COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons. The jury ruled that the company discriminated against the employee, who worked remotely during the pandemic, by denying her request for a religious exemption. The verdict was widely celebrated on social media by “health freedom” groups, who view the case as a “great precedent.” However, some social media users expressed concern about the broader implications of the ruling and questioned what can be claimed as a sincerely held religious belief.

What’s happening in the West:

The Washington Department of Health warned residents about a dramatic increase in whooping cough cases in the state. As of November 2, the state has reported 1,193 cases, compared to only 51 cases at this time last year. More than 80 percent of the cases have been in children. Several local media outlets reported on the rise in cases, prompting some social media users, including health professionals, to share their experience with the illness. Many posts encouraged vaccination, but some argued that  COVID-19 vaccines have damaged people’s trust in other vaccines, resulting in a decrease in vaccine uptake.

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Talking points for health care providers to use in response to trending narratives 

Each week the Infodemiology.com team will provide talking points and supporting messages in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. Health care providers can use this messaging when discussing vaccines online, talking to patients, or engaging with communities.  

Experts remain confident that bird flu is a public health concern but not currently a risk to the general public.

• Researchers have studied bird flu for decades. They say that there is currently little risk to the vast majority of humans.  
• Forty-six human bird flu cases have been detected in the U.S. this year, all in farm and dairy workers who were in direct contact with infected livestock. 
• Human-to-human spread of bird flu is extremely rare and has not been reported during the current outbreak.

COVID-19 infection is far more likely to cause blood clots than COVID-19 vaccination.

• Vaccine opponents have been misusing federal vaccine safety monitoring data from VAERS to spread false claims about vaccine safety for decades.
• VAERS data are self-reported, unverified, and cannot be used as evidence that a vaccine caused a specific adverse event.
• Real-world data has repeatedly shown COVID-19 vaccines to be safe and serious adverse reactions, including blood clots, to be extremely rare.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe. Claims that they cause cancer are an anti-vaccine myth.

• Over four years of scientific research and safety monitoring show no link between any COVID-19 vaccine and cancer.
• The claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause or accelerate cancer is an anti-vaccine myth with no scientific evidence to support it. 
• Turbo cancer is not a real condition or a term accepted by medical professionals.

Interested in recommendations tailored to public health professionals? Click here.