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FACT BRIEF

Did Nobel Laureate Luc Montagnier say people fully vaccinated for COVID-19 should be tested for AIDS?

By Ed Payne
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NO

The prominent French virologist, who died on Feb. 8, 2022, has said some controversial things in recent years, but he did not say this.

A social media post shows a picture of Montagnier — a co-discoverer of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS — with what looks like a translated tweet saying, "If you have taken the third dose, go and take a test for AIDS."

Lead Stories found no evidence of an original, untranslated tweet that matches the English version, but did find it on two different meme-generating websites.

Meanwhile, Dr. Stuart C. Ray, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told Lead Stories people vaccinated for COVID are at no risk of getting AIDS from the shot or booster:

"There is no scientific basis for even speculating that the authorized and approved vaccines to prevent COVID-19 could cause AIDS."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
New York Times Luc Montagnier, Nobel-Winning Co-Discoverer of H.I.V., Dies at 89
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.