Coronavirus: Four charged over fake news of child jab death

Police have charged four individuals in connection with a fake post on social media claiming a 12-year-old child had died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

Spokesman Christos Andreou said the case files have been sent to the attorney-general with the recommendation to prosecute the three men and a woman.

Andreou said it did not appear that any others were involved but police are continuing their investigation into the issue.

The authorities believe one of the four suspects had uploaded the initial post on Facebook and the three others shared it.

Distributing fake news is punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine of up to €2,652 or both sentences combined.

Police launched an investigation following a complaint by the Cyprus Medical Association and the Cyprus paediatric society.

The post, which also claimed the death had been confirmed by “insiders”, was denied by the health ministry. Nor had any incidents involving vaccination side-effects been reported, a ministry official said.

Limassol police too could not confirm such a claim while none of the state pathologists had been asked to investigate a child’s death.