Podcast host smears COVID-19 vaccines in new comedy special

This week, false claims about bird flu vaccines and inhaled COVID-19 vaccines spread online, as rising measles and COVID-19 cases raise regional concerns.

The latest online conversations about vaccines were dominated by fearmongering about COVID-19 and bird flu vaccines, led by a popular podcaster. In a comedy special that aired over the weekend, the podcast host continued his trend of downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19 while attempting to discredit COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, online vaccine opponents continued to circulate speculation and conspiracy theories about bird flu outbreaks and vaccines as well as an experimental inhaled COVID-19 vaccine that shows promise in animal studies.   

Regional conversations focused on rising measles cases in the Midwest, anti-vaccine laws in the South, and concerns about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and safety during pregnancy.

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What’s trending nationally in vaccine conversation:

In an August 3 comedy special, a popular podcast host mocked COVID-19 vaccines and minimized the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that most of the people we lost to COVID-19 are still alive. The podcaster also claimed that the pandemic made him distrust vaccines and science, stating, “Before COVID, I thought vaccines were the most important invention in human history. After COVID, I’m like, ‘I don't think we went to the moon.’” The podcast host has previously promoted vaccine conspiracy theories and the disproven COVID-19 treatment, ivermectin. The podcast, which averages 11 million listeners per episode, is a frequent source of false claims about COVID-19 vaccines and has served as a platform for multiple prominent science deniers and conspiracy theorists.

Over the last week, popular anti-vaccine social media accounts have been circulating false claims and conspiracy theories about bird flu outbreaks and vaccines in English and Spanish. The posts falsely claim that bird flu cases are fake or overblown and that world leaders are orchestrating another “plandemic,” the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 pandemic was planned. Some posts insinuate that bird flu will be used to control or forcibly mass vaccinate people, while others promote the debunked conspiracy theory that the WHO and other global health stakeholders are planning to use military force to arrest people who refuse bird flu vaccines. 

A July 31 Science study described an experimental nasal COVID-19 vaccine that triggers strong immunity in hamsters and prevents airborne transmission of the virus. The inhaled vaccine induces immunity in the nose and mouth—where the virus enters the body—effectively blocking COVID-19 from replicating in the body and spreading to others. In the study, none of the nasally vaccinated hamsters that contracted COVID-19 transmitted the virus to other hamsters, regardless of vaccination status. By contrast, roughly half of the hamsters who received injected vaccines and contracted COVID-19 transmitted the virus to others. Although most conversations about the study are positive, a false narrative persists online that inhaled vaccines will be used to deliver vaccines without consent.

Read the fact checks: 

• PHCC: Claim circulates that officials lied about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness 
• AFP: Yale study misrepresented in false claims about ‘airborne vaccines’
• FactCheck.org: Q&A on H5N1 Bird Flu

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What’s happening in the Northeast:

In an August 4 social media post, a popular anti-vaccine account posted that COVID-19 wastewater levels in Massachusetts are twice the national average despite the state’s high vaccination rate. The thread has garnered thousands of engagements, in which commenters falsely claimed that vaccinated people are at higher risk from COVID-19 and that vaccinated people “always have Covid.” The CDC currently classifies Massachusetts, along with 18 other states, as having “very high” COVID-19 levels. 

What’s happening in the South:

On August 1, a new education plan went into effect in Louisiana as the new school year began. The plan includes laws allowing parents to use a letter of dissent to opt out of vaccine requirements, preventing discrimination based on vaccination status, and banning schools from requiring COVID-19 vaccination for enrollment. A Louisiana-based health freedom group and a local lawmaker posted in celebration of the laws and both posts received considerable attention and were shared thousands of times with praise for the new laws and hope for the elimination of all school vaccine requirements in the future. A prominent anti-vaccine advocate lauded the laws in a post with nearly 12,000 engagements.

What’s happening in the Midwest:

Health officials are urging parents to vaccinate their children before the new school year as new measles cases were reported in Minnesota and Michigan in recent weeks. A Wayne County, Michigan, resident with measles reportedly exposed people at two medical sites to the virus in late July. The individual is the seventh Michigan resident diagnosed with measles this year. Eighteen measles cases have been confirmed in Minnesota this year, all in unvaccinated children, several of whom were hospitalized. Some online posts falsely claim that the reports are scare tactics to force vaccinations and speculate that children will be vaccinated at school without parental consent.

What’s happening in the West:

Local news in Washington and Idaho ran an interview with an OB-GYN who claims that COVID-19 vaccines are not safe for pregnant people and should never have been approved for the population. The interview was originally published by Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, a controversial group that promotes unproven COVID-19 treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine over vaccines. The OB-GYN claims without evidence to have seen an increase in miscarriages following the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in 2021. Numerous large-scale studies have found no link between COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy complications, including miscarriage or stillbirth.

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Talking points for public health professionals 

Each week, the Infodemiology.com team will provide messaging recommendations in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. Use these helpful tips when creating content, updating web pages and FAQs, and to inform strategy for messaging about vaccines.

High-profile vaccine skeptics often use anecdotes and unsubstantiated claims to sow doubt about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Debunking messaging may emphasize that years of scientific research and vaccine safety monitoring have shown that vaccine opponents’ claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness are myths and conspiracy theories. Talking points may highlight that COVID-19 has killed over a million Americans, hospitalized millions more, and caused long COVID in approximately 17 million American adults. Globally, over 70 percent of the world’s population—over 5.6 billion people—safely received COVID-19 vaccines, which have saved millions of lives. 

Emphasizing that transmission of bird flu between humans is very rare, making the risk of human outbreak low, is recommended. Thirteen human bird flu cases have been reported this year in the U.S., all from contact with infected dairy cows and poultry. Messaging may explain that viruses can change over time as they circulate unchecked, including becoming more transmissible and more infectious, making pandemic preparedness key. The U.S. is monitoring viral spread, maintaining a stock of bird flu vaccines, and distributing vaccines to those most at risk of bird flu exposure in an effort to prevent a human outbreak.

Inhaled COVID-19 vaccines have been a target of frequent controversy and conspiracy theories despite inhaled flu vaccines being in use for over two decades. Highlighting that the false narrative that inhaled vaccines would be delivered without consent began circulating last year in response to a Yale University study exploring the delivery of mRNA vaccines via a nasal spray is recommended. Debunking messaging may explain that there is no evidence to support the conspiracy theory that an existing or future inhaled vaccine will be delivered to unsuspecting people by aerosol delivery. Researchers continue to investigate new and better vaccine technology to protect against COVID-19 and other diseases.

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