There are over 24 million diagnosed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with over 800,000 associated deaths. The viral pandemic certainly has people feeling upset, confused, and vulnerable. Unfortunately, some resources are using these fears to cause even more conflict. One perpetrator? “Plandemic,” says the Cherry Creek Times. As a two-part documentary-esque video series, “Plandemic” fervently spreads a range of false information and conspiracy theories around COVID-19. From lying about how the virus was created to perpetuating misleading statements, this video series prays upon a society already overwhelmed by widespread damage, death, and destruction. In this explanation, Patient Worthy will debunk some of the claims made in “Plandemic” – and explain the truth behind the information.

“Plandemic: Indoctornation”

On CETV, the 75-minute “Plandemic: Indoctornation” is described as being guided by Dr. David E. Martin. The video supposedly:

tracks a three decade-long money trail that leads directly to the key players behind the COVID 19 pandemic.

So who is Dr. David Martin? The same description describes him as:

creator of the world’s first quantitative public equity index – the CNBC IQ100. He served as Chair of Economic Innovation for the UN-affiliated Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization and has served as an advisor to numerous Central Banks, global economic forums, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, and national governments.

Yet while this description seems, on the surface, to be fairly non-controversial, Dr. David E. Martin is also known as a frequent purveyor of conspiracy theories. In the second iteration of “Plandemic,” the film states that COVID-19 was created by researchers and intentionally released to cause havoc in the population. More so, it argues that people should not trust the media, which is intent on spreading even more misinformation.

Event 201

One conspiracy theory in the film is the “Event 201” theory. In 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ran Event 201. This preparedness exercise simulated a severe pandemic beginning in Brazil, prompting attendees to discuss how they might react to such an event. Despite the event planning occurring in 2018, “Plandemic” claims that Event 201 proves that COVID-19 was a planned event. To highlight their point, the video’s creators compare video from the event with live-action video of similar experiences (ex: travel bans).

But Dr. Eric Toner explains that similar preparation exercises have been held for upwards of 20 years. In fact, coronaviruses represent a huge pandemic threat, making them a key focus of preparedness exercises. For examples, SARS and MERS, types of coronaviruses, both caused extreme health problems within the past 25-50 years. Dr. Donald Burke agrees with Dr. Toner, explaining that coronaviruses:

should be considered as serious threats to human health. These are viruses with high evolvability and proven ability to cause epidemics in animal populations.

As a result, they are extremely important for researchers to study. Claiming that preparedness equates to creating a pre-planned pandemic is nothing less than dangerous on the part of “Plandemic.”

Origination

Currently, the accepted origination of COVID-19 seems to be some naturally-occurring arena: beginning in animals and spreading to humans. However, “Plandemic” claims that COVID-19 is lab-designed. But the video offers little, if any, evidence of this claim. It shows a brief clip of Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier acknowledging that the virus could possibly be created by someone with an expertise in molecular biology. “Plandemic” also uses insight from Dr. Meryl Nass, who opposes vaccination. Nass adamantly states that COVID-19 is lab-created, refuting scientific and peer-reviewed articles saying the latter. Similar to Montagnier, neither Nass or the filmmakers offer any evidence.

Patents

Currently, Dr. David Martin runs M-CAM, a company which manages $1.1m in assets for a variety of clients. The main purpose of the business is to analyze patents to determine how much investment value a company is worth. As a result, M-CAM can be considered a type of investment research company. But despite Dr. Martin’s storied and talented past, he also frequently engages in conspiracy theorizing. For example, his novel Coup D’Twelve is apparently based on true events. Yet the novel states that the 2008 presidential election was not only rigged, but linked to 9/11. On Youtube, Dr. Martin spreads COVID-19 conspiracies, from those around Event 201 to the government using COVID-19 for capitalistic gain.

In “Plandemic,” Dr. Martin states that philanthropists, pharmaceutical and tech companies, and global health organizations like WHO all collaborated to create COVID-19. As a result, he argues, the funded research only puts money back in their pockets. As evidence, he cites a patent filed by the CDC in 2003 around SARS and viral detection. Yet he fails to notice that the patent was designed to keep organizations from monopolizing research and funding. Said Dr. Julie Gerberding, the patent was:

a protective measure to make sure that the access to the virus remains open for everyone.

Next, Dr. Martin falsely claims that viruses cannot be patented because they are natural. He even goes so far as to say:

If it was manufactured, it was a violation of biological and chemical weapons treaties and laws. If it was natural, filing a patent was illegal. In either outcome, both are illegal.

But a UCLA law professor argues that isolated genes or viruses were patentable, despite the Supreme Court since changing its views. Beyond that, viruses and biological materials are needed for medical and epidemiological research.

Vaccines

The “Plandemic” filmmakers then change their focus to vaccinations. Currently, there are innumerable drugmakers looking to find a cure for COVID-19. But these vaccines could be dangerous, claim filmmakers. They also falsely state that, if the vaccine was to cause illness or injury, people would be unable to seek compensation. For evidence, they use statements from anti-vaccination organization Children’s Health Defense.

Vaccines exist under the umbrella of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. Basically, this Act states that any drug or vaccine producers, during a pandemic, receive some liability protection. But while a spokesperson from the Children’s Health Defense argues that people are on their own if injured, this isn’t true. Death, harm from misconduct, and serious injuries are not part of the liability protection.

If injured from a COVID-19 vaccine, people may seek compensation through the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). Patients have one year to submit a claim, which determines whether someone should receive compensation for medical expenses, lost income, death benefits, or other injury-related expenses. Since 2010, CICP has paid $5.7m in claims for various vaccine-related injuries.

“Plandemic” Inaccuracies

Finally, “Plandemic” fails viewers in its use of false information and poorly contextualized videos. For example, the video highlights a statement from 60 Minutes Australia which claims that no vaccine has been found for any type of coronavirus, like SARS or MERS. However, this fails to consider additional information. Some coronaviruses are extremely mild and not deadly, meaning they don’t warrant a vaccine. In other cases, like SARS, the illness was contained to the point where a vaccine was deemed unnecessary.

With COVID-19, the virus continues on an upward trajectory. Over 200 countries and territories are affected, including indigenous tribes and populations. As a result, people see a vaccine’s necessity.

Next, “Plandemic” uses out-of-context videos, like a clip from bioethicist Arthur Caplan, to claim vaccines cannot be found within a year or even five. The video states that the average time for vaccine development is 20 years. But Caplan decries “Plandemic”‘s use of his clip, acknowledging that he does believe a vaccine can be found. He states that “Plandemic:”

is pure anti-vaccine propaganda.

Currently, the average time for vaccine development is four years. However, with over 160 COVID-19 vaccines in development, we may see an even faster timeline.

Ultimately, “Plandemic” peddles misinformation and conspiracies, drumming up additional fear around the pandemic. But their content is simply untrue. People should instead get information from doctors, medical providers, and other scholarly sources.