Hantavirus outbreak aboard cruise ship revives COVID-era vaccine skepticism and false pharmaceutical company predictions online
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The recent hantavirus outbreak on Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, leading to three deaths and one Western Cape ICU admission (all had contact with Andes strain), also prompted theorists to create new theories about COVID vaccine skeptics; and they’re now falsely claiming sinister motives regarding pharmaceutical companies and predictions of future viral outbreaks.
Cruise Ship Outbreak Fuels Online Conspiracy Narratives
Conspiracists are abusing the situation to turn legitimate approx. 2024 biomedical research from Korea's Vaccine Innovation Center/Morderna H1N1/N1 becomes a multiplatform mRNA delivery toy program with scientists —Korea and the company as coordinators of mRNA delivery program (“mRNA Program”) into conspiratorial evidence for corporate collusion.
Additionally, pre-clinical vaccine trials on the Hantavirus (exclusively pre-clinical and thus not yet (certainly) proceeded to human subject testing) is foundational research five years away/minimum from FDA approval. Moreover, this research will target the varieties of these types of hemorrhagic viral infections that are primarily found in Asia and Europe, rather than those varieties found (i.e. Andes virus) in Uganda, South, West Africa and United States; thus, making any future vaccine for these types of viruses through this potential research improbable.
Scientists Clarify Nature and Scope of Vaccine Research
The Stony Brook Medicine Infectious Disease Expert Luis Marcos explained that the scientific advancement is simply an indication how science works through incremental improvements through research advancements about identifying virus and response from the human immune system; therefore, with this finding of modern scientific research, the scientific methodology of the companies' approach with modern vaccines is aimed at providing as much protection to as many different types of the virus and hantavirus symptoms as possible (multiple generations).
Additionally, a long-standing social media post linked to the prediction of a Hantavirus outbreak in 2026 is now being used by conspiracy theorists to support their claims that there are premonitions regarding a future outbreak. The X account "iamasoothsayer" posted this vague prediction in June 2022 ("2023: Corona Over; 2026: Hantavirus") that has garnered more than 255,000 likes and 100,000 shares following the outbreaks aboard cruise ships.
Political Commentary and Viral Posts Amplify Misinformation
Political figures and commentators on social media are also using the timeline to make false claims about Moderna's advance notice of cases. Marjorie Taylor Greene, former U.S. Representative, stated that Moderna is manipulating future viral outbreaks by the design of their research and producing bioweapons and vaccines for profits. Others have interpreted their research as evidence of a premonition about impending outbreaks.
Hantavirus comprises a group of viruses with a variety of different strains throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. Therefore, vaccines for one strain of Hantavirus will not necessarily provide immunity from other strains. Between 1993 and 2023, nearly 890 cases were reported in the United States from Hantavirus; therefore, outbreaks are typically limited in nature.
Business Honor is of the view that Moderna's Hantavirus vaccine research represents legitimate preclinical scientific progress misrepresented online.
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