Old Photos Of Babies With Deformed Limbs Shared As Covid-19 Vaccine Side Effects

Five images have been shared in Korean-language social media posts alongside a claim they show babies born with defects caused by a "parasite" in a Covid-19 vaccine. The claim is false: the photos predate the Covid-19 pandemic. Health experts told AFP that Covid-19 vaccines do not contain live parasites.

The photos were shared here on South Korean blogging platform Naver Blog on November 16, 2021. 

"As soon as you get a vaccine, parasites [in the vaccine] go into your DNA. It's been about a year since the launch of Covid-19, it's time to see babies born from mothers who got vaccinated against Covid-19. They are giving birth to monsters," reads the Korean-language claim in part.

The same images were shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook; and Naver Blog here, here and here.

However, the claim is false.

The photos predate the pandemic and health experts say Covid-19 vaccines do not contain live parasites.

'Iraqi baby'

A reverse image search on Google showed that the first and second images were published here in a report by International Business Times (IBT) on April 18, 2017.

The report reads in part: "A seven-month-old Iraqi baby boy, who was born with eight limbs, has been successfully operated on by surgeons at the Jaypee Hospital, located in Noida, India."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the images shared in the misleading Naver Blog post (L) and the photos published in the IBT report:

British tabloids The Daily Mail and The Sun also published reports on the same baby in April 2017.

'Pakistani child'

The third and fifth images have circulated in reports about a six-legged baby boy born in Pakistan in 2012.

A Google reverse image search found the third image published here in a report by Indian news website Firstpost on April 18, 2012.

The report reads in part: "A baby born in Pakistan's Sindh province has six legs, with a doctor assessing that the removal of the parasitic limbs could be a serious and time-consuming medical exercise."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the misleading Naver Blog post (L) and the photo published by Firstpost:

The fifth image was published here in a report by a Pakistani daily The Nation on April 19, 2012, according to another reverse search on Google.

The report reads in part: "A team of doctors on Thursday successfully operated on the six-legged boy here in Karachi and separated his four legs and other extra parts from the body."

Below is a screenshot comparison between the image shared in the misleading Naver Blog post (L) and the photo published by The Nation:

'Indian girl'

The fourth image was published in a June 16, 2008 report by British tabloid Daily Mail here about an Indian girl who was born with eight limbs.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the image shared in the misleading social media posts (L) and the photo published by The Daily Mail:

Parasite claim

Covid-19 vaccines do not contain live parasites, according to health experts.

Professor Kim Shin-woo, an epidemiologist at Kyungpook National University, told AFP that Covid-19 vaccines "cannot contain any parasites, because [parasites] are not included as ingredients, and because there is a strict system in place during the manufacturing process to prevent contaminations".

Jung Jae-hun, a preventive medicine professor at the Gachon University College of Medicine and Science, also stressed that "all vaccines are manufactured in a sterile environment, unadulterated by other pathogens or viruses, let alone whole parasites."

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