Social media posts falsely claim Japan named Covid vaccine ‘deadliest drug’

Billions of Covid vaccine doses have been safely administered globally since 2021 but misinformation about the jabs persists. An image shared in social media posts falsely claimed Japan had “officially” named mRNA Covid shots the “deadliest drug in history”. But as of January 3, there have been no official reports to support the claim, which originated from a site that misrepresented a Japanese press conference about the introduction of a new type of Covid vaccine in the country.

“Japan officially named the Covid mRNA vaccine the ‘deadliest drug in history’,” read an X post in simplified Chinese shared on November 12, 2024.

The post shared a photo that includes an image of a funeral and a picture of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

“In a shocking statement, Japanese scientists labelled Covid vaccines the deadliest drug in the history of medicine, asserting that the individuals responsible for this global health crisis must be prosecuted,” the post went on to say.

Similar claims were shared elsewhere on X, Facebook and Weibo.

The false claim surfaced after Japan approved Kostaive — a new mRNA Covid jab that induces stronger immunity than existing vaccines, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (archived links here and here).

The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases and other health experts said in October that they “strongly recommend” vaccination amid reported public concerns surrounding Kostaive (archived links here and here).

Data gathered worldwide also indicates vaccines “remain safe” and serious side effects are “extremely rare”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Since 2021, more than 13 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally. As with all vaccines, WHO and regulatory authorities continuously monitor the use of COVID-19 vaccines to identify and respond to any safety issues that might arise,” the global health agency said (archived link).

“Serious reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are extremely rare. Through this process, we establish that COVID-19 vaccines remain safe worldwide.”

As of January 3, Japan continued to offer the vaccine and has made no official announcement labelling the jab the “deadliest drug” as claimed in the false posts.

Vaccine safety

A reverse image search found that the graphics used in the false post was published in an article on November 7, 2024 on People’s Voice — a website that has been fact-checked multiple times by AFP for spreading misinformation.

The article largely repeated the false claim and shared a video showing a press conference held by Japanese lawmaker Ryuhei Kawada on September 12, 2024, where he and other attendees — including former professors — expressed concerns over the safety of the new Kostaive vaccine (archived link).

But they did not mention labelling the jab the deadliest drug. Kawada’s blog post about the press conference also did not mention the false claim (archived link).

In contrast, the Japanese government has asserted the safety of the Covid vaccine, including the new Kostaive jab. 

Health minister Takamaro Fukuoka told reporters on October 4 that the new vaccine was approved only after “its efficacy and safety were confirmed” (archived link).

“When deciding whether or not to use them in routine vaccinations, their safety and effectiveness were confirmed again by the relevant council before approval,” he said. 

The health ministry also said on its website that the new vaccine was examined based on the results of animal and clinical trials, and it was confirmed that “there was no significant difference in safety compared to existing mRNA vaccines” (archived link).