BOOM

Trending Searches

    SUPPORT
    BOOM

    Trending News

      • Fact Check 
        • Fast Check
        • Politics
        • Business
        • Entertainment
        • Social
        • Sports
        • World
      • Law
      • Explainers
      • News 
        • All News
      • Decode 
        • Impact
        • Scamcheck
        • Life
        • Voices
      • Media Buddhi 
        • Digital Buddhi
        • Senior Citizens
        • Videos
      • Web Stories
      • BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos 
        • Facts Neeti
      • Home-icon
        Home
      • About Us-icon
        About Us
      • Authors-icon
        Authors
      • Team-icon
        Team
      • Careers-icon
        Careers
      • Internship-icon
        Internship
      • Contact Us-icon
        Contact Us
      • Methodology-icon
        Methodology
      • Correction Policy-icon
        Correction Policy
      • Non-Partnership Policy-icon
        Non-Partnership Policy
      • Cookie Policy-icon
        Cookie Policy
      • Grievance Redressal-icon
        Grievance Redressal
      • Republishing Guidelines-icon
        Republishing Guidelines
      • Fact Check-icon
        Fact Check
        Fast Check
        Politics
        Business
        Entertainment
        Social
        Sports
        World
      • Law-icon
        Law
      • Explainers-icon
        Explainers
      • News-icon
        News
        All News
      • Decode-icon
        Decode
        Impact
        Scamcheck
        Life
        Voices
      • Media Buddhi-icon
        Media Buddhi
        Digital Buddhi
        Senior Citizens
        Videos
      • Web Stories-icon
        Web Stories
      • BOOM Research-icon
        BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs-icon
        BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker-icon
        Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos-icon
        Videos
        Facts Neeti
      Trending Tags
      TRENDING
      • #Operation Sindoor
      • #Pahalgam Terror Attack
      • #Narendra Modi
      • #Rahul Gandhi
      • #Waqf Amendment Bill
      • #Arvind Kejriwal
      • #Deepfake
      • #Artificial Intelligence
      • Home
      • World
      • Coronavirus
      • Children In Senegal Did Not Die...
      Coronavirus

      Children In Senegal Did Not Die After Receiving 'Coronavirus Vaccine'

      While the vaccine does not exist yet, the video being circulated falsely claims a cosmetics salesman to be forcefully vaccinating.

      By - AFP |
      Published -  10 April 2020 4:02 PM IST
    • Boomlive
      Children In Senegal Did Not Die After Receiving Coronavirus Vaccine


      A Facebook post shared thousands of times claims seven children died in Senegal after being given a COVID-19 vaccine. This is false; scientists are still working to find a vaccine and Senegal's health ministry told AFP the incident never happened. The video in the post actually shows people gathering after they heard rumours that a door-to-door salesman was vaccinating locals.

      "Scandal in Senegal," says a female voice commenting on the footage in French. "There's a guy who came to a house to vaccinate seven children against COVID-19. They dropped dead instantly".

      In the video, a crowd of people is seen gathering outside a building where a police car is parked.

      The footage has been shared thousands of times across more than a dozen Facebook accounts, with captions in English and French echoing the claim that seven children died after being vaccinated for the virus which has killed more than 94,000 people around the world as of April 10.

      Screenshot of a Facebook post sharing the false claim, taken on April 9, 2020

      Contacted by AFP, a spokeswoman for Senegal's health ministry rejected the claims as "fake news".

      "There is no vaccine," she said. "We have medical experts at the Institut Pasteur (a medical research institute, editor's note) in Dakar working to create and certify a vaccine according to procedure. They will be completely transparent about their findings."

      ALSO READ: Wearing Shoes Indoors Spiked COVID-19 Cases In Italy? A FactCheck

      According to the World Health Organization (WHO), clinical trials are underway to test possible vaccines and specific drug treatments for COVID-19. At the moment, patients receive care to relieve symptoms as there is no specific antiviral medicine for the disease.

      Controversy

      Two leading French doctors sparked accusations of racism last week for discussing the idea of testing a vaccine for coronavirus in Africa on television. They later apologised and said they had been misunderstood.

      Senegal's health ministry spokeswoman told AFP that "Senegal is a sovereign country and even if there was a vaccine, nobody could oblige us to vaccine our citizens".

      AFP searched comments on the videos circulating on Facebook, with one suggesting the drama unfolded "when a Canadian and a Senegalese tried to vaccinate people".

      A Google search for "Senegal vaccine Canadian" revealed news reports (in French) from March 26 on the arrest of two people, including a Canadian, in Senegal's capital Dakar for falsely claiming they were health ministry staff there to vaccinate children.

      A report from Senegalese news site Senego, which also recounts this incident, features the same footage that has been circulating online alongside the false claims, but without the woman's voice-over.

      The health ministry and police told AFP that a Senegalese man was briefly arrested following a misunderstanding on March 26 in Dalifort, an area of Dakar. However, they said that no Canadian was detained.

      "He never wanted to vaccinate people," the health ministry's spokeswoman said. "He was passing by a house, and the resident's aunt started causing panic when she heard the word 'coronavirus'. A crowd of people gathered outside, thinking this man wanted to vaccinate people by force".

      Police officers were called and found no medical equipment on the man, she said.

      ALSO READ: False: Muslims Ignore COVID-19 Curfew, Convene At Mosque In Sri Lanka

      Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for the armed forces ministry confirmed that a Senegalese man was arrested and quickly released. He said that no Canadian was involved.

      "There was just one man who was a Senegalese national selling cosmetics door to door," he said. "During the discussion, a member of the family asked him if he had any vaccines. He jokingly replied that he did. The aunt rounded up the whole neighbourhood. Officers attended and found only cosmetic products in the man's bag. The drama was caused by the fact he was wearing a health ministry t-shirt".

      Follow BOOM's live blog on latest updates around the COVID-19 pandemic here.

      (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

      Tags

      CoronavirusCoronavirus rumoursFact CheckFacebookFAKE NEWSSenegalviral
      Read Full Article
      Claim :   Seven children died in Senegal after being given a vaccine for COVID-19, the novel Coronavirus disease.
      Claimed By :  News reports from Press Afrik, Senego & Facebook users
      Fact Check :  False
      Next Story
      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker. Please reload after ad blocker is disabled.
      X

      Subscribe to BOOM Newsletters

      👉 No spam, no paywall — but verified insights.

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe for free!

      Stay Ahead of Misinformation!

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe Now🛡️ 100% Privacy Protected | No Spam, Just Facts
      By subscribing, you agree with the Terms & conditions and Privacy Policy connected to the offer

      Thank you for subscribing!

      You’re now part of the BOOM community.

      Or, Subscribe to receive latest news via email
      Subscribed Successfully...
      Copy HTMLHTML is copied!
      There's no data to copy!