Two issued correction directions over vaccine claims

Local author Cheah Kit Sun and opposition party chief Goh Meng Seng were issued correction directions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act for sharing misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.

Mr Cheah will have to publish a correction notice on his blog post written last month, titled Do Not Participate In A Society That Rejects You, while Mr Goh will have to do the same on his Facebook post in which he shared the article.

The post "has been written to falsely exaggerate the dangers of Covid-19 vaccines, and to discourage people from taking them", said the Health Ministry (MOH) yesterday. "It is important to correct these falsehoods, especially given the ongoing vaccine booster exercise."

Mr Cheah had said Covid-19 vaccines are "the most dangerous ever developed in recent memory".

Citing data from the United States Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), he claimed that these vaccines have caused more serious injuries and deaths than all other vaccines combined over the past decade.

These claims are false, MOH said, adding that Covid-19 vaccines approved for use here have been assessed to be safe and effective by reputable health and scientific agencies worldwide.

As at Oct 31, just 0.006 per cent of vaccine doses have resulted in serious injuries. No deaths have been attributed to vaccination so far. "The benefits of receiving Covid-19 vaccines continue to far outweigh the risks of vaccination," MOH said.

Covid-19 vaccines were given to a very large proportion of the US population. In comparison, other vaccines were given to "substantially fewer" individuals in any given year preceding the pandemic.

The ministry said it is thus misleading to compare the absolute number of serious injuries and deaths resulting from Covid-19 vaccines and other vaccines.

Surveillance and awareness of adverse event reporting for Covid-19 vaccines have also been much higher than other vaccines.

VAERS data is self-reported - meaning that any member of the public may make a report to the VAERS system without the need for it to be verified. "They often lack details and sometimes contain errors. No proof is required that the adverse event or death was caused by the vaccine," MOH pointed out.

In addition, adverse events in the VAERS system need not be serious, and can include mild side effects such as rashes, colds or headaches.