Photo Shows Rand Paul Receiving A Hepatitis Vaccine, Not COVID

Maxim Sorokopud

Politics

10th August 2021

Photo Shows Rand Paul Receiving A Hepatitis Vaccine, Not COVID

The image is from 2015 (Getty Images).

The Claim

A photo shows Kentucky Senator Rand Paul receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

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Emerging story

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky recently called upon citizens to “resist” the CDC’s coronavirus guidelines and safety measures. Shortly after the video of the senator’s message appeared on social media, a number of users began posting an image of Paul being injected. Users claim that this shows he is acting in a hypocritical manner for telling people to resist the CDC’s guidance when he himself has been vaccinated against the disease.

Posts containing this image have gained significant amounts of attention, with some receiving hundreds and even thousands of interactions.

A supporting image within the article body

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar’s investigation concludes that the photograph of Senator Paul being injected is not connected to coronavirus. The image dates to 2015, prior to the 2020 pandemic. Paul was receiving a vaccine for Hepatitis A.

Senator Paul has stated in the past that he will not personally be getting vaccinated against coronavirus. His reasoning was that he had already contracted coronavirus and believed that he had natural immunity. This action runs contrary to the advice of the CDC, as medical experts are uncertain of how long natural immunity lasts. A range of people have been vaccinated after contracting coronavirus, including former President Trump, whose party Senator Paul belongs to.

Additionally, Senator Paul’s recent announcement of resistance contains a number of false statements. For instance, he states that the CDC’s mask mandate is anti-science. In reality, there is plenty of evidence that shows that wearing masks reduces the spread of coronavirus. He also states that children are no more at risk from coronavirus than the flu. However, by July 2021, the childhood death toll from coronavirus stood at at least 300. In the 2019 to 2020 flu season, 188 children died of the flu.