Former Trump Wife Also Joins US COVID Vaccine Conspiracy Theory... "Electronic Chip Inserted in Vaccine"

Bill Gates Foundation Allegedly Inserts Microchips in Vaccines to Create Surveillance Society
Vaccination Rate Expected to Be Limited Even After Vaccine Development... Nearly 40% of Americans Distrust It

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the United States, conspiracy theories related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines are intensifying, with some celebrities even fueling these theories. Various conspiracy theories have emerged, ranging from claims that electronic chips are embedded in the vaccines to create a global surveillance society, to assertions that the vaccines could cause autism or damage the immune system. As a result, there are concerns that vaccination rates may be lower than expected even after the vaccines are developed.

According to foreign media such as Forbes on the 16th (local time), Marla Maples, the second wife of U.S. President Donald Trump and the biological mother of his daughter Tiffany, is reportedly spreading COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories through her social networking service (SNS). The conspiracy theory, posted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of President John F. Kennedy, alleges that individuals like Bill Gates, who are currently investing heavily in vaccine development, are using the COVID-19 crisis to insert miniature microchips into vaccines to be injected into the human body. The theory claims that some people are conspiring to create a surveillance society through this.

This theory is known to have been initially spread by Roger Stone, a close aide to President Donald Trump and a master of political maneuvering in U.S. politics. According to CNN, other false information circulating nationwide includes claims that COVID-19 causes autism, that monkey heads are included in the vaccine, or that the immune system is adversely affected. CNN reports that these conspiracy theories are being disseminated by anti-vaccine activists opposing vaccines in the U.S.

Negative perceptions and distrust of vaccines in the U.S. are not new. Last year, during a measles outbreak centered in Europe and the U.S., distrust in vaccines spread, leading to over 3,000 infections in New York and other areas, prompting a state of emergency. The measles issue arose mainly in Jewish residential areas, where rumors circulated that the vaccine contained proteins extracted from pigs, leading to avoidance of vaccination, compounded by rumors that vaccines lowered children's intelligence. Even President Trump himself spread the claim that "vaccines cause autism" through social media during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Consequently, there are concerns that vaccination rates may remain low even after a vaccine is developed in the U.S. According to a poll conducted by CNN and YouGov in May, 33% of Americans said they would not get vaccinated even if a COVID-19 vaccine were widely available at an affordable price. Only 66% responded that they would get vaccinated. Notably, 28% of respondents believed the conspiracy theory that Microsoft (MS) founder Bill Gates intends to implant microchips in people worldwide using the COVID-19 vaccine.

For vaccines to be effective, at least 70% of the population must be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, so U.S. health authorities are reportedly considering ways to eradicate conspiracy theories. Recently, Francis Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), stated at a press conference, "We have not succeeded in providing people with accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine," adding, "We underestimated the public resistance to the vaccine. I did not expect conspiracy theories to spread so widely."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.