Fact Check: Viral article on WHO admitting COVID vaccinated mothers were giving birth to babies with severe heart infection is FALSE
A few social media accounts have shared a link to an article published with the headline stating that WHO had admitted to vaccinated mothers giving birth to babies with severe heart problems.
Claim :
WHO admitted COVID vaccinated pregnant women are giving birth to babies with heart defectsFact :
The headlines of the article make a claim that COVID vaccinated mothers gave birth to babies with heart defects, the article itself does not talk about the COVID vaccine.
A few social media accounts have shared a link to an article published with the headline stating that WHO had admitted to vaccinated mothers giving birth to babies with severe heart problems. This link has been shared by several users with captions like “MAJOR BOMBSHELL: The World Health Organization has finally admitted that THOUSANDS of fully jabbed mothers are giving birth to babies with ‘severe heart defects’. This is Satanic.”
The article published on the website thepeoplesvoice.tv, on July 4, 2023, quotes a WHO article on the outbreak of Myocarditis (acute Infection) in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It also quotes an article by Epoch Times, which states that UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) spokesperson confirmed that 10 babies have been diagnosed in Wales and five have been diagnosed in England.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. Though the headlines of the article make a claim that COVID vaccinated mothers gave birth to babies with heart defects, the article itself does not talk about the COVID vaccine.
In the viral article, the WHO report states that between June 2022 and March 2023 the disease, Enteroviral Myocardities, is caused due to enterovirus infection.
The WHO report states that Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium). The most common cause of myocarditis is a viral infection (e.g., Enterovirus), but it can also be caused by a bacterial infection, a reaction to a drug, or an autoimmune disease
We also searched the WHO website for any reports on ill-effects of COVID vaccine on pregnant women and found a Question-and-Answer page on COVID-19 and Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the postnatal period. The report states that pregnant women in many countries around the world have now received COVID-19 vaccines, and no safety concerns have been identified related to their pregnancies or the health of their babies. None of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized to date use live viruses, which are more likely to pose risks during pregnancy.
A report published by the UK Government website, www.gov.uk about Neonatal Enteroviral Myocarditis states that neonatal myocarditis is caused by Enterovirus infection. Enteroviruses are a common cause of seasonal childhood infections and typically cause respiratory disease, hand-foot-and-mouth, and viral meningitis. The vast majority of infections are mild and self-limiting. Neonates can, however, rarely develop severe enterovirus infection, which may present as a sepsis-like syndrome or viral meningitis. Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) is a very rare complication of enterovirus infection and is typically associated with coxsackie B viruses.
Hence, WHO has not stated that COVID-19-vaccinated women gave birth to babies with severe heart defects. The viral article shared has a clickbait headline, with an intention to misdirect the audience. The claim is false.
