Did the head of the World Health Organization say that he refused to take the coronavirus vaccine?
A piece of news circulated on social media platforms: “The head of the World Health Organization: I refused to take the coronavirus vaccine.”
The truth:
The news is fake. The head of the World Health Organization (Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus) did not say that he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and there is no source to prove that this is true. Tedros had previously shared a photo of himself via his account on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on May 12, 2021, accompanying his announcement of receiving the vaccine against COVID-19.
It is noteworthy that some social media users shared a video clip from a meeting with Tedros, in which they claim that he confirmed that he had not received the COVID-19 vaccine. But in fact, the video is misleadingly fragmented, dating back to an interview conducted by John Cohen (a writer for Science magazine) with Tedros in 2021, where he asked him: “I want to ask you about your vaccination. What date did you get the first dose?” Tedros replied: May 12.
Cohen asked Tedros another question about his not receiving the vaccine in December 2020 (that is when it began to be given to people). Then Tedros’ answer was:
“You know, still I feel like I know where I belong: in a poor country called Ethiopia, in a poor continent called Africa, and wanted to wait until Africa and other countries, in other regions, low-income countries, start vaccination."
That is, he refused to take the vaccine just because he was head of the World Health Organization and waited for his turn to come as an Ethiopian in protest against the delay in vaccinating poor countries.
In April 2021, Tedros denounced the lack of justice in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, saying:
“Vaccines are still out of reach of the poorest countries.”
He also repeatedly denounced the unequal distribution of vaccines and urged wealthier countries to share excess doses to help vaccinate health workers in low-income countries.
For his part, Cohen confirmed to the Associated Press that the claim (Tedros refused to receive the vaccine) is false and described it as a “lie.”
The interview's director, David France, said in an interview with the Associated Press that the important part of Tedros' answer was his explanation that he waited for vaccine equity to improve before he got his dose.