Several social media posts have been falsely claiming that the recent increase in hepatitis among children is because of the COVID-19 vaccination, according to the reports.
The majority of the children who have been impacted by the disease were under five years old as well as were not inoculated, as per the health agencies observing the situation. But that has not stopped the claim from increasing rapidly on social media.
Moreover, On April 5, the World Health Organization was informed of 10 cases of hepatitis in kids of age ten or below in Scotland. By April 8, 74 cases had been reported in the United Kingdom.
It is still not evident what is the reason for the increase in the cases. The WHO has put forward the fact that it could be because of the adenovirus, which usually causes a cold. No link has been shown between the COVID-19 vaccine as well as hepatitis, as per the Belgian virologist Steven Van Gucht.
Along with this, on all of the social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Reddit), it has been claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines cause hepatitis in the young ones, with one Twitter user pointing to a possible link without offering evidence.
In Reddit post bases its misinformation on the fact that adenovirus is used in AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Meanwhile, the adenovirus in the vaccines are carriers that do not cause harm as they have been modified, so they cannot replicate as well as spread the disease.
Some of the posts have speculated about the effects of lockdown on the children, claiming that the children are usually exposed to the infection, but the diseases but the lockdowns limited exposure, leading to exaggerated reactions to the adenovirus. Yet this theory lacks a medical basis.
Furthermore, the senior lecturer in microbiology at Nottingham Trent University, Dr Conor Meehan, shared that he has agreed that not being exposed to germs in the first few years of a child’s life could affect their immune systems.
