A post circulating on social media alleging that scientists have discovered HIV in mRNA vaccines used on farm animals and have contaminated the food supply is MISLEADING.
The post further claims that this could have consequences for the human system "potentially leading to a drastic population decline in coming years".
The Star fact-checker has debunked these claims and established that they are not only misleading but also unsubstantiated.
The claim that HIV has been detected in mRNA vaccines has no scientific basis.
mRNA is a type of vaccine that gives your cells instructions for how to make the Spike protein found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus.
After vaccination, your muscle cells begin making the Spike protein pieces and displaying them on cell surfaces. This causes your body to create antibodies.
If you later become infected with the COVID-19 virus, these antibodies will fight the virus.
These vaccines do not contain HIV or any components related to HIV.
According to an article published by Reuters, Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, stated that mRNA vaccines are rigorously tested for safety and efficacy, with no credible evidence linking them to HIV contamination.
He told Reuters:
“None of the existing commercially available vaccines produces cross-reactivity with HIV tests so there is no basis to think that COVID vaccination or booster vaccination induces false positive HIV tests.”
“There is no plausible mechanism in which COVID-19 vaccines (or indeed, any vaccines) can cause HIV or AIDS,” said Dr Bnar Talabani MBE told Reuters.
“Vaccines, including Covid-19 vaccines cannot cause AIDS / HIV or make us more susceptible to contracting this or any other virus.”
According to World Health Organization, HIV is transmitted through specific bodily fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, and breast milk.
It cannot survive outside the human body for long and cannot be transmitted through food consumption.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) both confirm that food cannot serve as a transmission vector for HIV.
