Claim of link between mpox and COVID-19 vaccines is nonsense | Fact check

The claim: Mpox is a reaction to COVID-19 vaccines

An Aug. 17 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a video of a woman making an assertion about the real nature of mpox.

“Everyone needs to detox now!!” the post reads in part. “This is NOT a virus!! This is a side effect of the Covid Vaccines.”

The post was liked more than 200 times in five days.

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Our rating: False

COVID-19 vaccines have nothing to do with mpox, which is caused by a virus identified more than 60 years ago. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were first administered in late 2020.

Testing, rash, pattern of mpox spread prove no link to COVID-19 vaccines

The World Health Organization has declared mpox a public health emergency for the second time since 2022, but some social media users still doubt the disease's existence – or if it is even caused by a virus.

Claims that mpox is not caused by a virus are patently false, public health officials told USA TODAY. And linking the outbreak to the administering of COVID-19 vaccines is ridiculous.

“Mpox virus absolutely exists,” said Dr. Daniel Pastula, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Colorado School of Public Health with expertise in infectious diseases.

The virus causing the disease, known as monkeypox before the WHO recommended renaming it in 2022, was first discovered in 1958. The first human case was identified in 1970 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the CDC. That timeline shows the disease is not a symptom of an adverse reaction to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, as they were first administered in late 2020, said Dr. Christopher Sanford, an expert in travel and tropical medicine at the University of Washington.

Further, mpox is diagnosed through PCR testing, meaning it is confirmed by identifying the virus’s genetic material.

“You’re looking at the DNA,” he said. “If you get a positive, it is mpox.”

Fact check: Video shows line for Tim Walz rally, not mpox tests

There is no mpox DNA in the COVID-19 vaccines, the ingredients of which are publicly reported, Sanford noted.

Sanford note the concept of a link between COVID-19 vaccines and mpox is further refuted by looking at the patterns of where mpox is appearing and where COVID-19 vaccines were distributed. Wealthier nations, particularly in the Americas and Europe, were quicker to get and adopt COVID-19 vaccines when they became available. Mpox is most prominently appearing in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the slow uptake of COVID-19 vaccines was well documented.

Sanford also noted that mpox rashes should not look like the rashes people sometimes report after getting a vaccine. Mpox rashes can look like bumps, blisters or open sores, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. The skin reactions reported after vaccines are usually flatter, similar to hives, Sanford said.

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the video for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

DW and Full Fact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Dr. Christopher Sanford, Aug. 21, Phone interview with USA TODAY

• Dr. Daniel Pastula, Aug. 21, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• CDC, updated April 18, About mpox

• CDC, June 6, 2022, Poxvirus PCR Diagnostic Protocol

• CDC, updated Dec. 14, 2023, Allergic Reactions after COVID-19 Vaccination

• American Academy of Dermatology, updated Jan. 6, 2023, Dermatologist explains what the mpox (monkeypox) rash looks like

• Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, Nov. 30, 2022, Challenges to COVID-19 vaccine introduction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a commentary

• Immunization Economics, April 5, Low volumes, high costs: delivering COVID-19 vaccines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Vaccines journal, Dec. 20, 2022, COVID-19 Vaccines: How Efficient and Equitable Was the Initial Vaccination Process?

• FDA, revised Aug. 22, fact sheet for recipients and caregivers about pfizer-biontech COVID-19 Vaccine

• FDA, revised Aug. 31, 2022, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mpox has no link to COVID-19 vaccines | Fact check