Video of woman with Stevens-Johnson syndrome falsely linked to COVID-19 vaccines
Video of woman with Stevens-Johnson syndrome falsely linked to COVID-19 vaccines
(Reuters) - A TikTok video of a woman documenting her rare reaction to a mood-stabilizing medication has been falsely linked by social media users to COVID-19 vaccines.
Emily Herbert, a 27-year-old woman from Illinois, was taken to hospital on Sept. 12 where she was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), according to her GoFundMe page and her own updates on social media.
SJS is a rare but serious skin condition that can be caused by a reaction to certain medications.
Some social media users have since reshared Herbert’s videos to suggest they show a reaction to COVID-19 vaccines.
On Facebook, one user shared a clip in the “Covid 19 Adverse Reactions Group” with a caption protesting mandates.
The same video was also viewed 160,000 times on Twitter in a post by a user who describes themselves as a “pure blood”, a term sometimes used by people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine. Replies to the tweet indicate fellow users believe they were watching a vaccine reaction.
But Herbert herself said on TikTok that her bout of SJS was caused by a reaction to Lamictal, a mood-stabilizing drug she was recently prescribed. Her full account can be heard.
VERDICT
False. Emily Herbert’s case of SJS was caused by Lamictal, a mood-stabilizing drug.
