The U.K. emergency alert system cannot activate pathogens in the vaccinated

Context

Several Facebook posts falsely claim that the U.K. emergency alert system test will activate pathogens in the COVID-19 vaccinated population. These claims suggest that the test will measure the 5G frequency emitted and how it will penetrate the vaccinated and that the 5G frequency will cause blood clots or flu-like symptoms in the vaccinated.

As reported by the BBC, the emergency alert system is scheduled to be tested in the U.K. on Sunday, April 23, at 3 p.m. GMT. A message will appear on the screens of mobile phones and tablets connected to 4G and 5G networks, along with a loud beep. The goal of the emergency alert system is to alert people, via their devices, on rare occasions where there may be a threat to life, such as severe flooding, fires, and extreme weather.

In Fact

The emergency alert system cannot activate pathogens in people who have received the COVID-19 vaccines. These narratives are related to known COVID-19 5G conspiracy theories that claim the vaccines contain microchips or nanoparticles that can connect to a 5G network. However, the claims are unsubstantiated and have been repeatedly debunked by experts.

Speaking with The Conversation, Dr. Archa Fox, an associate professor in the School of Human Sciences and the School of Molecular Sciences at the University of Western Australia, explains that the idea COVID-19 vaccines can connect to the internet is a myth. Fox elaborates that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine uses lipids, a type of nanoparticle, to help deliver the vaccine, while some other companies looked at mixing vaccines with hydrogels to disperse the vaccine slowly into cells. Conspiracy theorists latched onto the use of hydrogels to wrongly assert that they are needed for electronic implants and that they connect to the internet. Fox states that regardless of the presence of hydrogels, these concerns about the internet are invalid. Logically Facts has previously found claims that COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips to be false. There is no evidence that hydrogels or lipids can transfer 5G or connect to the internet. 

Previously, conspiracy theories about COVID-19 have claimed that 5G transmissions caused the virus. A spokesperson from the International Telecommunication Union told the U.N. that such claims have no technical basis and that the virus is not spread by radio waves. Dr. Simon Clarke, an associate professor in Celluar Microbiology at the University of Reading, also told the Science Media Centre that the idea mobile phone signals cause COVID-19 is “rubbish,” stating “electromagnetic waves are one thing, viruses are another, and you can’t get a virus off a phone mast.” 

There is also no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines contain a dormant virus, and the lists of vaccine ingredients are publicly available. The NHS states that the available vaccines do not contain a live virus. Therefore, there is no basis to suggest that the U.K. emergency alert system test will activate some unknown pathogen in vaccinated people or interact with the vaccine in any way. Logically Facts has also published an extensive explainer to provide more information about the U.K. Emergency Alert test. 

The Verdict

The U.K. emergency alert system cannot activate pathogens, and COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any substance that would react with 5G to cause such effects. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.