“If you can’t check, don’t share.”
This was the advice by world-renowned Bacolodnon vaccinologist Dr. Melvin Sanicas as he warned the public against the proliferation of fake news in social media.
The latest of this was a supposed quote from French Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier, who supposedly said that vaccinated people will die within two years.
“Fake news stories and conspiracies on social media cause confusion, anxiety and pose hurdles to effectively respond to the pandemic,” he told DNX.
He added that fake news also “almost always include information that triggers anger, anxiety or fear and starts or ends with “please share widely / with families and friends. ”
“Any information that fits this description should be double checked. If you can’t check, don’t share,” he added.
Earlier, Sanicas posted on his Facebook account the following advice: DELETE.
This was after the quote by Montagnier was being circulated.
“When you see these messages being forwarded, [stop the spread of fake news] by deleting and not sharing further,” he had said.
He had added that Montagnier did not say all vaccinated people will die in two years.
“Secondly, his assertions on antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) are THEORETICAL – studies have shown that this is NOT the case for COVID,” he added.
ADE happens in other viruses, but not SARSCoV2, he pointed out.
“Yes, it is important to continue studying long-term protection and immune response in vaccine breakthrough cases (infection after vaccination) to understand what was happening with immunity and safety but so far we are not seeing any concerning signal,” he explained, adding, “If you see these messages, do yourself a favor – DELETE.”
