Fact check: No link between mpox and COVID vaccination

Just one day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the highest level of alert for mpox outbreaks in African countries for the second time in two years, the first case in Europe was also reported.

The infected individual is said to have contracted the virus while staying in an African region experiencing a significant outbreak of the disease, according to the Director-General of the Swedish Health Agency during a press conference on Thursday.

These recent developments have led to an increase in discussions on social media, with a noticeable rise in claims about the viral disease — many of which are untrue.

Mpox and mRNA vaccines: Is there a connection?

Claim: "What they are selling us as MONKEYPOX is, in most cases, actually herpes zoster; one of the most common side effects of the COVID 'vaccine'", wrote this X-user on August 14, 2024, quoting the German doctor and politician Wolfgang Wodarg. The post has already been viewed 2 million times.

DW fact check: False 

The claim originates from a video interview with Wolfgang Wodarg, a physician and former Social Democrat (SPD) member of the German Bundestag, who later became a leading candidate for the small party dieBasis (the base), which was founded in the context of protests against COVID-19 measures. The video was released in 2022 by the controversial Austrian broadcaster AUF1.

What the user claims in the accompanying text of the post has also been shared by others: Example 1 (Portuguese, 178K views), Example 2(Spanish, 498.5K views), Example 3(Spanish, 117K views).

Most of the posts we found on this topic were in Spanish and Portuguese. According to a study by Loyola University Andalusia, which analyzed the period from May 7 to September 10, 2022, the narrative that mpox is a side effect of COVID-19 vaccines was shared more frequently than any other false claim about mpox.

When asked if there is a connection between the COVID-19 vaccine and the mpox outbreak, microbiologist and immunologist Kari Moore Debbink from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US said in a DW interview: "The COVID mRNA vaccines were used globally, while mpox cases are typically found in specific countries in Africa, with some low case numbers outside of those regions. Therefore, there is no geographic link between COVID mRNA vaccine use and mpox cases."

William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, US, shares this opinion: "These are two completely different viruses, and of course, the vaccine against COVID has nothing to do with mpox."

We have already thoroughly debunked theclaim that the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine contains weakened viruses from chimpanzees as carriers for the DNA of the coronavirus spike protein in a previous fact-check.

Mpox = shingles? 

The viral X-post also claims that mpox is actually herpes zoster, also known as shingles, in most cases.

According to a 2022 study published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which causes herpes zoster and chickenpox, can be reactivated through vaccinations. The study also shows that individuals vaccinated with various COVID-19 vaccines have an increased risk of herpes zoster outbreaks.

However, there is no connection between the mpox pathogen and VZV, says Kari Moore Debbink: "Mpox and herpes zoster are in different virus groups, so testing is easily able to discern between the two viruses. While both viruses can cause similar symptoms including rashes, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and malaise, there are also distinct characteristics of the rashes caused by each virus — making it possible to tell them apart by sight and symptoms."

Are corona- and mpox viruses the same?

Mpox is much less contagious than COVID-19. While the mpox pathogen is transmitted through close physical skin-to-skin contact or contact with contaminated materials (towels, bedding and clothing), the coronavirus is extremely contagious and can be spread through tiny droplets in the air from breathing, speaking, sneezing or coughing. COVID-19 can be transmitted by others who have the virus, even if they have no symptoms. The California Department of Public Health has listed additional differences between coronaviruses and mpox viruses on its website.

Avoiding the spread of misinformation

The massive misinformation surrounding vaccines in general is a cause of concern for medical professionals. 

"The misinformation that is being spread about all vaccines, about the COVID-19 vaccine, and now mpox also just results in a great deal of confusion and mistrust in public health authorities. That makes it much more difficult for countries and their ministries of public health to try to provide the best information and to help people. So, all of this confusion makes good intentions much more difficult," says Schaffner.

How to protect yourself from health-related misinformation and which questions can help are illustrated in this DW infographic:

This article was originally written in German.