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FACT BRIEF

Does Australian legislation that classifies the COVID-19 vaccine as a 'poison' mean that the shot is toxic or harmful?

By Dana Ford
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NO

In Australia, medicines and vaccines are normally classified as poisons under the nation's "Poison Standard," but only in the sense that they can cause harm if taken incorrectly or in the wrong amounts. By the logic of a video posted on social media, substances such as aspirin and the measles vaccine could also be considered "poison." In Australia, the term has a very different legal meaning than the way most people use the word.

The video shows a document from the government of Western Australia. It's not, as the video claims, a leaked document. It's an official document, available on the government's website. The March 2021 document authorizes the COVID-19 vaccine.

The document refers to the COVID-19 vaccine as a "poison," but only in the Australian legal sense of that word, not that the shot is dangerous or toxic. 

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Government of Western Australia Australian authorization to administer COVID-19 vaccine
Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia) Australian Poison Standards
Health Department, Government of Western Australia Australian sale and supply of medicines and poisons by schedule
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.