The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Credit: Sebastien Bozon/AFP)
Controversy spread on social media platforms for the past two days when a news item attributed to daily Nidaa al-Watan spread on local news channels and social media claiming that “hundreds of Lebanese who believed they had received the Pfizer [COVID-19] vaccine were instead injected with a saline solution,” sparking widespread backlash on social media.
L'Orient Today reached out Tuesday to Nidaa al-Watan to verify the claim, and Nidaa al-Watan denied publishing such an article "recently."
A journalist at the publication explained to L'Orient Today that in 2021, Nawal Nasr one of Nidaa al-Watan's journalists at the time, had written a story on a case involving a nurse in Batroun who allegedly administered saline solution instead of the Pfizer vaccine to numerous residents. A legal complaint was subsequently filed against the nurse.
A source at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) categorically rejected to L’Orient Today on Tuesday the claims that surfaced on social media and online platforms, saying that “the vaccine was procured through the World Health Organization, and international bodies were supervising its distribution.”
“The Health Ministry worked diligently at the time to ensure that the vaccines were imported and administered properly to the population,” the source said.
Pfizer’s Lebanon office declined to comment when contacted Tuesday by L’Orient Today.
'Water and salt are better than the vaccine'
Dr. Mirvat Termos, a public health scientist who uses her social media platforms to give health advice and was active during the pandemic raising awareness on the “importance of vaccines," told L'Orient Today that "Pfizer vaccines were delivered, tracked, and administered under strict protocols in Lebanon. Their effectiveness was visible in reduced hospitalization rates among high-risk groups. If people had received saline, those public health outcomes simply would not have occurred." “I think it’s unlikely that the vaccines were saline,” she added.
If many social media users expressed their outrage at the rumor, others resorted to mockery. A user, AbdelKarim, who was skeptical about taking vaccines, deemed this news as a good one and wrote: “Water and salt are better than the vaccine, for sure.”
Another, named Rakelle wrote: “We have fallen into the trap,” with several laughing emojis.
Lebanon’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign was launched in February 2021, against the backdrop of severe economic crisis, political turmoil, and a strained healthcare infrastructure. Supported by the World Bank and WHO, the campaign prioritized healthcare workers, the elderly, and vulnerable groups before being administered to the general population. Multiple vaccine brands were administered, including Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Sputnik V.
'One isolated report of saline being used in Batroun' in 2021
All "vaccines were distributed exclusively to accredited hospitals and MoPH-approved vaccination centers, with oversight from the World Bank and WHO to ensure proper handling and storage,” Termos explained.
She mentioned that “there was one isolated report of saline being used in Batroun, but no national investigation ever confirmed widespread misuse, and neither Pfizer nor the MoPH has issued any alert or finding that supports such claims.”
Termos argued that the re-emergence of this narrative four years later is a “textbook example of disinformation resurfacing in cycles, often fueled by anti-vaccine groups aiming to erode public trust. These movements rely on recycled fear and selective anecdotes, not peer-reviewed data.”
The anti-vaccine movement refers to a broad social phenomenon where individuals or groups oppose the use of vaccines, question their safety, or resist mandatory vaccination policies.