DOH: Probe needed on alleged US military anti-vax campaign

The alleged “secret campaign” launched by the US military at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic supposedly to discredit China’s Sinovac vaccine in the Philippines deserves to be investigated, the Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson  Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said Sunday.

The Reuters wire service recently reported that, during the pandemic, the US aimed to “sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid” that was being supplied by China to countries like the  Philippines.

Reuters said that the Pentagon had been trafficking in COVID-19 “misinformation” through X, formerly Twitter. It identified at least 300 accounts, almost all of which were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus.

“The findings by Reuters deserve to be investigated and heard by the appropriate authorities of the involved countries,” Domingo told reporters.

The DOH spokesperson added that there were published, peer-reviewed studies that found “[v]accination  decisions among Filipinos are determined by their age, educational  attainment, health insurance, employer requirement, high awareness of  the disease, and a high level of vaccine confidence.”

Reuters said that after it asked X about the accounts, the social media company removed the profiles, determining they were part of a coordinated bot campaign based on activity patterns and internal data.

“Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the [US] military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits, and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation,” the report read.

According to Reuters, the US  military’s anti-vax effort began in the spring of 2020 and expanded beyond Southeast Asia before it ended in mid-2021. — DVM, GMA Integrated News