Debunked: COVID-19 vaccines do not create variants of HIV/AIDS

euronews.com:

False online claims have suggested an unfounded link between COVID-19 vaccines and HIV, the virus that causes AIDs.

The misleading posts claim that coronavirus jabs are creating new variants of the unrelated virus to emerge.

The misinformation has spread amid greater global awareness for HIV testing in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States.

No clinical evidence has shown any link between COVID-19 vaccines and AIDs and global health authorities have dismissed the claims.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated that coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective and that any risks are extremely rare.

But anti-vaccine demonstrations are still being held in several cities, including the so-called "Freedom Convoy" truckers' protest in Canada.

Other protesters in the United Kingdom have cited ancient, defunct laws in an attempt to shut down the country's vaccination programme.

Many online users have falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are creating a new disease, so-called "vaccine acquired immunodeficiency syndrome" or "VAIDS".

Posts referencing the term have widely circulated on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, while Google search terms for “VAIDS” have also risen in recent days.

"Do NOT take the vaccine #Vaids," one user wrote on Facebook, while others kept their posts vague, asking, “What is VAIDS?”

Neither the WHO nor the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has documented any such disease known as "VAIDS".

A WHO spokesperson told Euronews that no "reputable source" has published the claims about "VAIDS" and labelled the reports as "misinformation".

Other online users have falsely suggested a link between COVID-19 vaccines and the new HIV variant recently discovered in the