Between October 27, 2021 and November 2, 2021, a video claiming that 13 children in South Africa died after taking the COVID-19 vaccine circulated.
Background
On October 27, 2021, South Africa’s Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) issued a statement requiring businesses to introduce mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.
This statement cited a revised directive on Occupational Health and Safety Measures (OHS), allowing the implementation of mandatory workplace vaccination. This was however not received positively. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) for instance rejected this circular, saying it will not support mandatory vaccination for civil servants.
Verification
The same video was previously used in different contexts, Once in a tweet claiming that the children died from poisoning at a party held at a school in Kaduna State, Nigeria, as published on the GH Gossip website.
From a Google Reverse Image search, results show that Piga Firimbi previously looked into claims surrounding this video. According to this fact-check, events shown in the video occurred in Kenya, on February 12, 2020.
The same video was posted on Youtube on February 3, 2020, in a report that 13 pupils in Kakamega County died after a stampede. The incident was also featured on several news reports at the time.
Verdict
NO, these children did not succumb to either an alleged COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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