QuickCheck: Does a Covid-19 vaccine cause monkeypox?

CLAIMS abound on social media that the chimpanzee adenovirus vector used in AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine is causing the monkeypox outbreak.

Is this true?

Verdict:

FALSE

Firstly, the adenovirus used as a vector for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is unrelated to the orthopoxvirus that causes monkeypox.

They are about as unrelated as viruses can be, as each uses different methods to infect and replicate within the host's body.

Furthermore, monkeys and chimpanzees are different species. A chimp is not a monkey, it is an ape, and the last common ancestor between monkeys and apes lived around 30 million years ago.

ALSO READ: QuickCheck: Is Malaysia at risk of a monkeypox outbreak?

But that doesn't really matter as the name "monkeypox" is a misnomer.

Monkeypox is actually very rare in monkeys and it certainly does not originate from them.

It was first described and named in 1958 when it was identified among laboratory monkeys in Copenhagen, Denmark.

While it is still unknown what animal is the natural reservoir of the virus, all evidence seems to point towards rodents being the likely culprit.

ALSO READ: QuickCheck: Is the chickenpox vaccine also effective for monkeypox?

Going back to the adenovirus used in AstraZeneca's vaccine, it is a harmless, weakened chimp adenovirus strain that has been altered so that it cannot replicate in humans.

Its one and only job is to introduce the Covid-19 spike protein (which by itself is also harmless) into the body so that it triggers an immune response.

This immune response will train the immune system to recognise the Covid-19 virus so that in the event that you actually get infected, your body will already know how to defeat the virus.

References:

1. https://apnews.com/article/Fact-Check-Monkeypox-AstraZeneca-Vaccine-139032138448

2. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox#:~:text=The%20natural%20reservoir%20of%20monkeypox,level%20exposure%20to%20infected%20animals.

3. https://www.livescience.com/what-are-adenoviruses.html

4. https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127930#:~:text=Studies%20of%20clock%2Dlike%20mutations,and%2025%20million%20years%20ago.