No it did not, but social media ‘influencers’ misused its results to spread misinformation far and wide.
Claims that a study conducted by South Korean researchers “proves” a causal link between COVID-19 vaccines and an increased risk of up to six types of cancer have gone viral in recent days. These claims caused a wave of misinformation, with prominent figures and platforms using their professional titles to lend credibility to them.
So how did this happen?
Who claimed the study showed a link between vaccines and cancer?
Social media accounts cited a study titled “1-year risks of cancers associated with COVID-19 vaccination: a large population-based cohort study in South Korea”, published in Biomarker Research, an open access academic journal. The study used statistics from the South Korean health insurance database and found a pattern: individuals who received the vaccine were also more likely to be diagnosed with certain types of cancer within one year. This statistical correlation was quickly misrepresented as definitive “proof” of a direct risk.
A misinformation campaign focused on spreading specific, alarming numbers to stir p
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