Public Health Fakes: a “documentary” film about the victims of vaccination against COVID-19. Issue #35

A video with the headline “763 celebrities died after COVID-19 vaccination” is being shared online. It consists of a compilation of footage showing various individuals, such as TV presenters or athletes, suddenly losing consciousness, along with excerpts from articles about cases of death due to COVID-19 vaccination.

What’s the reality?

The video appeared on the network in April 2023 on the German website “Kla.tv” as a “documentary film” about the global consequences of vaccination. In addition to the Russian-language version, there are 22 other variations dubbed in languages from European countries as well as the East. Independent German fact-checkers from BR24 discovered in 2016 that the website systematically publishes news with conspiracy theories, and the website itself is associated with Swiss preacher Ivo Sasek and his organization “Organic Christ Generation” (OCG). In Europe, the organization is considered sectarian, particularly after Sasek’s son, Simon, left the sect in 2019 and began publicly speaking about his father’s unlawful activities. He specifically accuses Sasek of being anti-democratic and deliberately sowing mistrust in the media and politicians by perpetuating conspiracy narratives.

There is no basis to claim that the vaccine is the cause of people suddenly losing consciousness in the video. For example, let’s consider one of the video excerpts showing a visibly unconscious athlete who collapsed during training. The video claims that Jake Lever lost consciousness due to vaccination.

The athlete in the video is indeed Jake Lever, who plays for the Melbourne football club. During the first training session of the preseason, he started feeling unwell after running, during which he broke his personal speed record. According to the player himself, the collapse was a result of overexertion from intense physical exercises, to which Jake was not yet prepared after the break. Furthermore, other team members also noted excessive heat during the training. Within a few days, the athlete returned to training.

In many of the cases mentioned in the video, the cause of the athlete’s death is attributed to a heart attack. The video presenter presents this as a consequence of vaccination. However, the widespread issue of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscles, among athletes, existed even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The thing is, myocarditis most commonly affects healthy young individuals leading an active lifestyle, with men under 30 years old being at higher risk. The risk of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination is lower than the potential severe consequences of infection in the unvaccinated population.

Let’s also consider the case of German reporter Clara Pfeffer during a live broadcast. The video showing Pfeffer becoming disoriented and losing balance during a conversation appeared during the live broadcast of the morning show RTL News “Ntv-Frühstart” on February 15, 2022.

On the same day, in her Twitter account, the reporter thanked her team for their timely assistance and explained that she had not eaten breakfast before the morning broadcast. This lack of food was the cause of her temporary loss of consciousness. Fact-checkers from the American media Associated Press reached out to the channel for comment. They were informed that the host experienced hypoglycemia, which is a sudden drop in blood sugar levels. Skipping meals is one of the factors that can contribute to the development of hypoglycemia.

The State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine publishes a weekly report on the safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines. From April 2021 to May 2023, a total of 4,800 cases of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) were recorded in Ukraine. The total number of vaccine doses administered during this period was 35.5 million. This means that the incidence of AEFI accounts for 0.01% of the total number of vaccine doses used for all types of vaccines. The most commonly reported reactions are general disorders such as increased temperature, fatigue, malaise, chills, redness, pain, and swelling at the injection site. These reactions typically resolve within a few days after vaccination and do not pose a threat to health.