Paragraph 1: Identify and discuss.

What information presented might potentially be

or is straightforwardly wrong or “fake” in the material? What does it say about any
COVID-19 issue in the Philippines?

Emilio Henares, a River of Life preacher, made various incorrect statements

regarding how the COVID.19 vaccines are linked to "viral shedding" in an online
interview uploaded on Facebook. The pastor incorrectly says that persons who are
vaccinated transfer spike proteins that their immune system is generating owing to the
immunizations. As a result, exposure to vaccinated people is thought to raise the risk of
infection, blood clots, headaches, and flu symptoms in others. According to Henares,
ivermectin is also effective in all COVID-19 variants. Digital News Exchange (DNX), a
digital news organization located in Bacolod City, conducted the interview, which was
posted on Facebook on July 6. Although DNX has now updated the video's description
to include expert viewpoints, the video has continued to circulate on other websites.

Paragraph 2: Inspect. What visual, textual, and informational clues point to it being
malicious, wrong, or fake?

The video interview with its caption was posted in the Facebook page of DXN
News firs without experts view point then it was edited with the description including
expert’s viewpoints. The unedited caption of the video can be seen in the website of
Rappler claiming that vaccinated people become spreaders as they shed of spike
proteins. The pastor incorrectly says that persons who are vaccinated transfer spike
proteins that their immune system is generating owing to the immunizations around the
0:12 to 0:52 mark. As a result, exposure to vaccinated people is thought to raise the risk
of infection, blood clots, headaches, and flu symptoms in others. He claims that when
people receive vaccine, they pose more risk to their health and the risk of transmitting
vaccines to other people. His support are only his readings and not really from doctors
or medical researches. he also claims at around 3:27 that Ivermectin a medicine used to
treat people with condition caused by parasitic worms can work in all variants of Covid.

Paragraph 3: Fact-check. Present facts, evidence, and science behind the issue. Cite
your sources.
 In the absence of the other components of the virus, the spike protein is
insufficient to operate as a live SARS-CoV-2 and infect you or others. There is no
indication that the spike protein may harm the body on its own. There is also no proof
that getting vaccinated causes you to shed the spike protein in large levels.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2021), Pfizer-
BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines work differently than other forms of
vaccinations, but they nonetheless cause an immunological response in the body.
Although this sort of vaccine is new, it has been the subject of decades of research and
development.

There is no live virus in the mRNA vaccinations. Instead, they function by

instructing our cells to produce a harmless fragment of a "spike protein" found on the
surface of the COVID-19 virus. Cells display the protein fragment on their surface after it
has been created. Our immune system understands that it isn't supposed to be there
and responds by trying to get rid of it. Antibodies are created when an immune
response begins, emulating the reaction that occurs in a natural infection.

Many other vaccinations, unlike mRNA vaccines, use a fragment of the germ that
the vaccine protects against, or a weakened version of the germ that the vaccine
protects against. The measles and flu vaccines act in the same way. When you are
exposed to a weakened or small portion of a virus, your body produces antibodies to
help protect you from infection in the future.

The Department of Health states that based on the available evidence, COVID-
19 vaccinations that have been granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the
Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are considered safe and effective.
Vaccinations, like the COVID-19 vaccines, are among the most thoroughly tested
medical products available today. The fact that the COVID-19 vaccinations are available
for usage less than a year after the virus was discovered is not due to sloppy clinical
trial procedures. COVID-19 vaccinations will not cause you to become ill with COVID-
19.
 The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Paul Offit, a co-inventor of the rotavirus
vaccination and a member of the FDA's Immunizations and Related Biological Products
Advisory Committee, as saying that COVID-19 vaccines cannot shed live virus or the
spike protein.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna's messenger RNA vaccines, as well as Johnson &
Johnson's adenovirus viral vector vaccine, cause the body to manufacture one of the
SARS-CoV-2 virus's proteins termed the spike protein through various processes.

“It’s just one protein, it’s not a virus. It’s just one protein from the virus and all
that protein does is induce antibodies against it, so you then make antibodies to
that protein. That’s it. You don’t shed the protein, you don’t shed the antibodies,
you just make antibodies to one protein. So, it can’t possibly affect somebody
else because proteins aren’t shed” Offit said.

Offit stressed the need of distinguishing between a vaccination that uses a live
virus and one that uses a virus's harmless portion, such as a protein, to elicit an immune
response. Vaccines that use a portion of a virus to initiate a response, such as the spike
protein used in both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines, cannot cause
the virus to reproduce and shed. The vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson is a viral
vector vaccination. It delivers instructions to cells to generate the spike protein using a
harmless adenovirus that has been engineered so that it can't replicate, thus the
vaccination won't cause shedding. Live viral vaccinations, on the other hand, can
reproduce and shed.

The oral polio vaccine, which is no longer in use in the United States, is an
example of a vaccination that sheds or produces contact immunity, according to Offit.
People are administered virus strains through the mouth in this situation, according to
Offit, and the virus reproduces in the intestine before being lost in the feces.
Unvaccinated people get the vaccination virus by touching things that a vaccinated
person has touched, especially if that person didn't wash their hands properly.
 Indirect vaccination, according to Micaela Martinez, an infectious disease
ecologist at Columbia University who has researched the history of polio, is usually a
positive thing. It's "been a really amazing thing for eradication programs," she added,
adding it's usually not hazardous because it employs an attenuated virus that has little or
no disease-causing potential.

Henares also falsely claims that ivermectin is effective in all COVID-19 variants. 
The Department of Health and the Philippine Food and Medicine Administration
reiterated in a news statement dated April 30, 2021 that the anti-parasitic drug is "not
recommended" for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 owing to "insufficient
scientific data." Off-label investigational medications "may only be approved under a
compassionate special permit or when synthesized by a validly certified pharmacy and
appropriately delivered by a pharmacist to a patient with a valid prescription," according
to the agencies.

According to US Food and Drug Administration (2021), Ivermectin does not

appear to be effective against COVID-19 based on current evidence. Ivermectin pills are
now being evaluated in clinical trials for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in
humans. Ivermectin in high doses can be hazardous. If your doctor issues you an
ivermectin prescription, make sure you get medication from a reputable source like a
drugstore and take it exactly as directed. Never give yourself or others drugs intended
for animals. Ivermectin products for animals are not the same as those licensed for
humans. It is unsafe to use animal ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 in humans.

Paragraph 4: Introspect. What could be the short-term and long-term impacts of this
disinformation and/or fake news to people?

Fake news or information prevents people from making sound or prudent

judgements regarding different issues this would often times lead to diverse views
regarding one subject that may later on build in to conflicts among people. With this fake
news still circulating in other pages it is alarmingly true that this may still reach a wide
range of people who have access to the internet. The first false claim of Henares was
that getting close with people of are vaccinated is risky as they may transfer easier the
virus. If people will not be prudent in assessing the reliability of this information and they
will believe in it they would probably would not want to get vaccinated for the fear that
they might become a great carrier of the virus. Likewise, if people would not get
vaccinated in the long run, then the virus infection trend might continue to rise, and
domino effect would start again in the economy, healthcare, education, etc. The other
claim of Henares was that ivermectin is effective in all COVID-19. According to US Food
and Drug Administration (2021), The FDA has approved Ivermectin pills for the
treatment of intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two parasitic worm-related
diseases. In addition, several topical ivermectin formulations have been licensed for the
treatment of external parasites such as head lice and skin diseases including rosacea.
Ivermectin has not been approved by the FDA for use in people or animals to prevent or
treat COVID-19. Ivermectin is licensed for use in humans to treat parasitic worm
infestations, head lice, and skin diseases such as rosacea. If the people will continue to
believe in this fake information, then they might get worse disease due to the
unsupported claim with regards to the effectivity of ivermectin in treating Covid patients.
In the long run, this might create more confusion in the people and create more medical
or health problems if many people would continue to pursue this kind of medication.

Paragraph 5: Think macro. As a student of STS, what insights or solutions can you
propose on how we can stop the spread of disinformation and fake news in the time of
COVID-19? What responsibilities do you have as a student of STS vis-à-vis
disinformation and fake news?

The emergence and continuous growth of technology has paved way to

multitudes of development in our society. Regardless of the field that we consider,
technology has fostered a lot of convenience and comfort in our lives. As a student of
Science, Technology, and Society I believe that the use of technology calls for a lot of
responsibility. The accessibility of so many information online can be very dangerous to
many people who are not that knowledgeable about certain topics. As a student it
scares me to know that there are many fake or misleading information on the internet
that has led to many disputes and confusion among the netizens. In this time of Covid
with great uncertainty, people have different views and some of them are being so vocal
without even having proper background check of their claims leading people to believing
in a false claim. I believe that each and every one of us should learn how to filter the
information that we see online, to believe only on those experts like doctors or other
medical experts regarding the Covid related topics because it is them who have proper
knowledge and background regarding this matter. They have studied medicine for a
long time that is why it is an insult to neglect their opinion regarding these matters.
Government agencies (Department of Health- DOH) are also reliable sources of Covid
information as well as international health organizations like the World Health
Organization (WHO) who have been so hands on since the beginning of this pandemic.
As students of STS, it is my responsibility to practice integrity in the things that I pose
and share online to avoid misleading people. In the same way, it is also my
responsibility to report any misleading information regarding Covid pandemic issues to
appropriate authorities to prevent it from misleading other people. It is a must that I
educate myself regarding this matter so that I may be of help to other people so that
they are not mislead.
 REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2021). Myths and Facts about
COVID-19 Vaccines Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/facts.html Retrieved on October 21, 2021

Department of Health (DOH) (2021). DOH, FDA REITERATE INSUFFICIENT

EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF IVERMECTIN FOR
COVID-19, ADVISE PUBLIC ON VALIDITY OF PRESCRIPTIONS Retrieved
from https://doh.gov.ph/press-release/DOH-FDA-REITERATE-INSUFFICIENT-
EVIDENCE-TO-SUPPORT-SAFETY-AND-EFFICACY-OF-IVERMECTIN-FOR-
COVID-19-ADVISE-PUBLIC-ON-VALIDITY-OF-PRESCRIPTIONS Retrieved on
October 21, 2021

Department of Health (DOH) (2021). Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines Retrieved from

https://doh.gov.ph/Vaccines/Safety-of-COVID-19-Vaccines Retrieved on
October 21, 2021

Facebook.com (2021). EDITED: VACCINATED SPREADERS? Retrieved from

https://www.facebook.com/DNXNews/videos/194024215992926/ Retrieved on
October 21, 2021

Felix, J. (2021). FALSE: Vaccinated people spread COVID-19 through spike protein
Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/vaccinated-
individuals-become-spreaders-covid-19 Retrieved on October 21, 2021

Jaramillo, C. (2021). No scientific basis for vaccine ‘shedding’ claims | Factcheck

Retrieved from https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-
shedding-myth-fact-check-20210512.html Retrieved on October 21, 2021
US Food and Drug Administration (2021). Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat
or Prevent COVID-19 Retrieved from
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-
ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19 Retrieved on October 21, 2021