Does eating insects combined with being vaccinated by an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine weaken immunity? No, that's not true: The mRNA vaccine generates a strong T-cell response and boosts immunity, according to experts. The mRNA vaccines work by training the immune system to recognize the spike protein on the surface of the virus that causes COVID, allowing it to generate an immune response.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @tomanik.republikanec on April 7, 2023, with the caption (translated into English by Lead Stories staff):
Professor Stanek: What's happening in the world in 2023
-carbon footprint
-insects in food and artificial meat
It opened (translated into English by Lead Stories staff):
By being vaccinated by mRNA vaccine, you reduced the functionality of your immune system by 30 - 40 %. By eating insects, the functionality of your immune system lowers by 30 - 40 %.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Jun 19 15:23:31 2023 UTC)
The two messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna work by priming the immune system so it can respond more quickly to coronavirus infection.
The claim that eating insects weakens the immune system has been debunked here by Lead Stories. No study has shown a significant change in metabolism from ingesting insects. In fact, the nutritional value of insects is comparable to commonly eaten meats. Chitin in insects is not dangerous, and there is no known connection to suggest that chitin may cause cancer or other issues.
The claim that eating insects is part of the global depopulation program has also been previously debunked here and here. The hazards of edible insects remain a popular claim among certain purveyors of misinformation.
