Online articles shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media claim the global outbreak of severe hepatitis in children is linked to Covid-19 vaccines, citing an April 2022 study as evidence. But health authorities and independent experts dismissed the idea that the shots are to blame, saying most of those affected were too young to be vaccinated and that the study refers to the case of an adult with a different type of hepatitis.
“New Study confirming COVID Vaccine causes Severe Autoimmune-Hepatitis is published days after W.H.O issued ‘Global Alert’ about new Severe Hepatitis among Children,” says the headline of an April 28, 2022 article from The Expose, a website with a history of circulating inaccurate health information.
The story cites a case study of a 52-year-old male who developed autoimmune hepatitis following Covid-19 infection and vaccination, then says: “The findings come just days after the World Health Organization issued a ‘global alert’ about a new form of severe hepatitis affecting children.”
A severe hepatitis strain of unknown origin has been identified in nearly 230 children in 20 countries, including three in Indonesia who died from the condition.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a notice on the topic April 23, which dismissed the hypothesis that the illness could be a side effect from Covid-19 vaccines because “the vast majority of affected children did not receive Covid-19 vaccination.”
The organization told AFP: “There is nothing to suggest a link.”
UK health authorities also alerted the public to an increase in hepatitis cases in children, describing a “sudden onset” that had been identified since January 2022.
A Public Health England spokesperson said: “There is no link to the coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine. None of the currently confirmed cases in under-10-year-olds in the UK is known to have been vaccinated.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a health advisory “to notify clinicians and public health authorities about a cluster of children identified with hepatitis and adenovirus infection.”
Nine young children from Alabama affected by hepatitis all tested positive for a common pathogen called adenovirus 41, a study from the health agency released on April 29 said.
“At this time, we believe adenovirus may be the cause for these reported cases, but other potential environmental and situational factors are still being investigated,” the CDC said in a statement accompanying the study.
Regarding claims that the cases are connected to Covid-19 vaccination, CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said: “The ages for the cases ranged from 11 months to five years and 9 months, most of which are not eligible for a Covid-19 vaccination.”
Everyone five years of age and older is currently eligible to get a Covid-19 vaccine in the United States.
A similar claim appeared on The Gateway Pundit, another website that has repeatedly spread inaccurate information.
“Madrid’s Deputy Minister for Public Health Claims Cases of Hepatitis on Young Kids are ‘Related to Covid-19 Vaccine’” says the headline of the April 27 article on the site.
