FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Malaysian Child Having An Adverse Reaction To The COVID-19 Vaccine?
A video shared on Instagram purportedly shows a Malaysian child fainting after having an adverse reaction to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Verdict: Misleading
While the child had just received the COVID-19 vaccine, the Malaysian Ministry of Health explained the child had not slept or eaten enough prior to vaccination, not that it was an adverse reaction.
Fact Check:
Since the COVID-19 vaccines first became available in December 2020, social media has been replete with misinformation regarding the vaccine. An Oct. 1 video on Instagram shows a child looking faint and falling into someone’s arms. “Reports coming out of S.E.A. (Malaysia) that this 12 year old was having an adverse reaction to the ‘vaccine,'” text in the video reads.
While the child in the video had just been vaccinated against COVID-19, his fainting was unrelated to side effects from the vaccine. Check Your Fact found footage of the same video shared by Malaysian news outlet KiniTV, in an article bearing the headline: “Two teenagers fainted after the vaccine due to nervousness, not enough sleep.” (RELATED: Did A Member Of The FDA Vaccine Advisory Panel Say, ‘We Are Killing More People Than We Are Saving With The Shots’?)
Datuk Rahmad Mariman, Melaka’s State Health and Anti-Drugs Committee chairman, confirmed the child fainted outside a vaccination center due to nausea from not eating breakfast before he received the COVID-19 vaccine, New Straits Times reported. The Malaysian Ministry of Health further confirmed the child’s fainting was not a result of the vaccine in three statements posted on its verified Facebook page on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The child appeared healthy during the observation period, but then collapsed outside, according to a translation of the statements. He was then observed for 30 more minutes, where his vital signs remained stable and he was allowed to go home.
As of Sept. 20, children as young as 12 have been able to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Malaysia, Malaysia Now reported. The Malaysian government is aiming for 80 percent of children aged 12-17 to be fully vaccinated by the start of the 2022 school year, according to the outlet.
The Special Committee for Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply states the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are typically mild and include, “pain, swelling, redness on the injection site, feeling tired or lethargic, headaches, shivers, joint pains, fevers, nausea, feeling unwell, swelling of the lymph nodes, and other side effects that may be reported from time to time.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states on its website that it has “received reports of people fainting after nearly all vaccines” and that fainting is usually caused by pain or anxiety. People can experience anxiety during the vaccination process. Ways to help prevent fainting after inoculation include having the patient sit or lay down, offering the patient a snack and drink and reassuring the patient, the CDC website states.
