Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 13/03/2023
The advice we receive from the scientific community is crucial for informing citizens, as demonstrated by the last global health crisis. However, sometimes their incorrect and unverified views become the epicentre of the spread of disinformation, which leads to unforeseeable consequences.
In recent days, the front page of the Croatian political weekly Hrvatski tjednik has been shared in a coordinated manner. An interview with Dr Srecko Sladoljev was highlighted on the cover, followed by the title:
“The vaccinated are yet to experience trouble, but I disagree with some colleagues that everyone will die in the next two years.”
Below is a part of his statement in which he claims that the Covid vaccine is the cause of the higher death rate, and that this is the most common case in the countries that record the highest rate of vaccinated citizens. Sladoljev cites the sudden deaths of public figures as an example, as well as data on the increase in certain diseases.
“Mortality as a result of vaccination from Covid-19 is enormous, and it is most common in countries with the highest vaccine coverage rates. Sudden deaths of athletes and pop stars are only the tip of the iceberg,” the announcement states, among other things.
The screenshot of the front page was shared by numerous Facebook users (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), and for some, the opinions of the professionals served to “prove”, once again, that vaccines are harmful:
“There are three types of so-called vaccines. A third of them are nothing more than an ordinary saline solution that politicians, their friends tycoons, businesspersons and other champions of the transition received, together with persons from other spheres of public life who agreed to be the face of the pharmacomafia. They were also received by ordinary people who were simply lucky enough to be administered this very type of vaccine. The second vaccine is intended for sterilisation, while the third type is used to cause death after a certain period, depending on the organism”.
The claim that vaccines cause a higher death rate is not true and has been denied by official data.
If we consider the data from January 2023, published on the website Our World in Data, the United States of America (USA) is among the population with the highest percentage of vaccinated people.
The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that deaths after the covid vaccine are extremely rare, and that the vaccine, in those cases, is not necessarily the cause of death.
“Reports of deaths after vaccination against Covid-19 are rare. VAERS reports on adverse events after vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that the vaccine caused a health problem. More than 666 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, to January 11, 2023. During that time, VAERS received 18,649 preliminary reports of death (0.0028%) among people who received the Covid-19 vaccine”.
After reviewing the records and autopsies after the fatal cases, the CDC confirmed that the vaccine was the cause of death in nine cases. Taking into account the data on the number of vaccinated people, i.e. 666 million doses, vaccines definitely cannot be characterised as the cause of the higher death rate in the last three years.
“Continued monitoring has identified nine deaths causally associated with J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination. CDC and FDA continue to review death reports following COVID-19 vaccination and update information as it becomes available.”
Our colleagues from the Faktograf.hr web portal have also dealt with Sladoljev’s controversial claims. They state that no institution has confirmed that the increase in the number of deaths is related to vaccination against Covid-19.
The claim that “sudden deaths of athletes and pop stars are only the tip of the iceberg” is also incorrect.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the death of celebrities has unfortunately been material to prove various conspiracy theories about the negative consequences of the Covid vaccine.
The Raskrinkavanje.me team has repeatedly proven that it is precisely the cases of athletes, singers, and other public figures who are disinformers.
Sladoljev is a former immunologist and employee of the Institute of Immunology.
Colleagues from Faktograf have previously proved that many of his claims were not true, and at the beginning of the pandemic, he was also on the list of disinformers who most often published fake news.
Covid vaccines are not divided into categories for sterilisation, causing death…
The claims found in the description of the Facebook post are primarily unrelated to those made by Sladoljev, and the claims about the different distribution of vaccines or their composition are impossible to support with any evidence.
At the beginning of the pandemic, countries established a strategic approach to mass vaccination, prioritising certain groups to carry out citizens’ immunisation in the fastest and most efficient manner.
The World Health Organization (WHO) clearly states on its website that vaccines pass through stages of rigorous trials before being distributed.
“There are strict precautions in place to help ensure the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines. Before receiving validation from WHO and national regulatory agencies for emergency use, COVID-19 vaccines must undergo rigorous testing in clinical trials to prove that they meet internationally agreed benchmarks for safety and efficacy.”
In addition, it is clarified which side effects can occur after vaccination and that more serious or long-lasting side effects of COVID-19 vaccines are extremely rare.
“Like with any vaccine, some people will experience mild to moderate side effects after being vaccinated against COVID-19. This is a normal sign that the body is developing protection. Side effects of COVID-19 vaccines include fever, tiredness, headache, muscle ache, chills, diarrhoea and pain or redness at the injection site. Not everyone will experience side effects. Most side effects go away within a few days on their own. You can manage any side effects with rest, plenty of non-alcoholic liquids and taking medication to manage pain and fever, if needed.”
“More serious or long-lasting side effects to COVID-19 vaccines are possible but extremely rare”, the WHO explains.
Due to the clear evidence that the vaccine is not the cause of the higher mortality rate, nor that the deaths of public figures prove it, posts sharing the front page of the Hrvatski tjednik are rated as fake news.
The “Fake news” rating is given to an original media report (completely produced by the media that published it) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be reliably determined to have been created and disseminated with the intent to misinform the public, that is, to present a completely false claim as fact.
In addition, due to the misleading and incorrect claims of the existence of supposedly three different types of vaccines, this post also gets the rating – conspiracy theory.
The “Conspiracy theory “rating is given to a media report which features an untrue or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event or person, presenting them as part or the result of a hidden agenda (“conspiracy”). Such contents feature a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause and effect relationships are established without offering any credible evidence.