logo
Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Brief Publisher Logo
FACT BRIEF

Does everyone who got an Australian COVID-19 vaccine need to be tested for HIV?

By Ed Payne
Copy link
email
Copy featured image
email
NO

A COVID-19 vaccine that produced false-positive results for the virus that causes AIDS was used during clinical trials in Australia but later discontinued because of the "risk to vaccine confidence" those test results generated. The vaccine used harmless HIV fragments that produced the false positives.

A video shared in a social media post with the alarming but out-of-context text, "You should all get tested for HIV," is old and edited.

The original was produced by Australia's Seven News in December 2020. The country had just pulled the plug on the University of Queensland/CSL vaccine, which was under clinical trial and producing false positive HIV test results due to the harmless HIV fragments in it.

While the vaccine was effective, the PR risks associated with false positives for HIV made the Australian government decide against using it, according to Australian Minister for Health Greg Hunt.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
7News University of Queensland COVID vaccine terminated over 'false-positive' HIV results during trial
Prime Minister of Australia Press Conference - Australian Parliament House
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.
FACT BRIEF BY
Brief Publisher Logo
Latest fact briefs
facebook
twitter
email
email
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.