Viral instagram video falsely claims Covid-19 was planned

This article was published before the MHRA announced a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a very rare type of blood clot, which can be fatal. It was correct at the time of writing. Our latest fact checks about Covid-19 and the pandemic can be found here.

A video on Instagram that has been viewed more than 20,000 times claims that a second wave of Covid-19 has been planned, and Covid-19 vaccines are going to be fatal.

Both claims are false.

Conspiracy theories about the planning of Covid-19 have been shared widely on social media before. These include claims that Full Fact has already debunked, including that Event 201 (a pandemic response planning exercise) was a “rehearsal” for the coronavirus pandemic, that the virus was man-made and that Bill Gates owns the vaccine for or patent of Covid-19.

There is no evidence that the creation or spread of Covid-19 has at any point been orchestrated by political, commercial or other organisations/institutions.

In any case, a “second-wave” of Covid-19 cases has already happened (at least in the UK) and political leaders have begun warning of a third wave rise in cases. 

We have also repeatedly debunked claims that Covid-19 vaccines are deadly. Analysis by the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) did not suggest that fatalities of early recipients were caused by the vaccine. It also found the none of the serious adverse reactions reported appear to have been caused by the vaccine. 

More recent data on the Yellow Card scheme (the UK system for collecting and monitoring information on safety concerns such as suspected side effects or adverse incidents involving medicines and medical devices) shows that despite many millions of vaccine doses administered no new safety concerns have been reported. The MHRA also notes that of the “medical conditions reported in temporal association with vaccination, the available evidence does not currently suggest that the vaccine caused the event.”