No, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doesn't cause 'VAIDS.' That's not a real condition | Fact check

Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The claim: A study proves Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine causes ‘VAIDS’ in children

A Sept. 12 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a post on X, formerly Twitter, that discusses a supposed side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine called “vaccine-induced AIDS.” It includes a photo of a child whose face is covered with sores.

“Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine Causes VAIDS in Children, Study Proves,” reads the newsletter headline linked in the X post.

It received more than 600 likes in two days. The original post on X was shared more than 1,000 times in 12 days.

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Our rating: False

The study proves no such thing. VAIDS is not a real condition, and there is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to immunodeficiency, medical experts say. The study looked at the immune responses of vaccinated children, and its authors say their research was misrepresented.

‘VAIDS is not a real entity’

There is no condition called VAIDS, and no credible evidence exists connecting COVID-19 vaccines to any problems with immunodeficiency, medical experts said.

“VAIDS is not a real entity,” Dr. Matthew Laurens, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and researcher at the University of Maryland, said in an email to USA TODAY.

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About 31 million children in the U.S. between the ages of 6 months and 17 years – 44% of them – have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ most recent update in May.

Given those vaccination numbers, a serious side effect such as immunodeficiency “should be evident” by now, Dr. David Wohl, an infectious disease specialist at the University of North Carolina, said in an email to USA TODAY. But it isn’t, he said.

“Without smoke, hard to point to a smoking gun, let alone a dangerous shot,” Wohl said.

The X post refers to a study published in August in the journal Frontiers in Immunology. Its authors – researchers from the Australia-based Murdoch Children’s Research Institute – say their work is being “misrepresented and misused” to claim the COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous.

“Any suggestion that our exploratory study implies that COVID-19 vaccines cause a harmful suppression of children’s immune system is a naive and misguided oversimplification of our findings and ignores other studies that do not support this concept,” according to the statement attributed to three researchers – Nigel Curtis, Dr. Nicole Messina and Dr. Andres Noe.

USA TODAY reached out to Noe, the study’s lead author, for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The study was intended for a specific scientific audience that understands immunology and “was not written for or directed to the general public,” Laurens said.

It looked at children’s blood samples after they were vaccinated and found fewer cytokines – proteins that help control inflammation – in response to pathogens in lab tests.

But that is only one facet of the immune response, the researchers pointed out, and their work did not investigate the effects of that drop. They say a reduction in cytokines that leads to less inflammation instead could wind up being a benefit.

Both Wohl and the authors of the study said similar changes were observed with the BCG vaccine that is more commonly used outside the U.S. to protect against tuberculosis and has been associated with potential protection against other diseases.

False claims that vaccines can provoke autoimmune diseases predate the COVID-19 pandemic, and making such claims has been a tactic long used by opponents to discredit the vaccines.

The photo shown in the Instagram post has no connection to the COVID-19 vaccines; it's a stock image of an infant with impetigo sores.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the posts but did not immediately receive responses.

Health Feedback and The Associated Press also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine doesn't cause 'VAIDS' | Fact check