Does a video prove that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau faked the first doses of their COVID-19 vaccinations? No, that's not true: Although their vaccinations appeared to be unconventionally administered, the medical professional who administered the vaccines used an effective procedure, according to medical experts.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to Rumble on September 16, 2021. The narrator of the video described themself as a registered nurse and made commentary on the video footage of the Trudeaus receiving the first doses of their AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines on April 23, 2021. The narrator made several claims about the footage but summed up the main argument at the 2:32-mark of the video:
So to summarize, my impression as a registered nurse who is trained in giving IM injections, they made three key errors when they were acting out this scenario. Number one, the injector forgot to landmark the deltoid to ensure that she was giving the injection in the proper spot. Number two, the injector forgot to aspirate to ensure that she wasn't injecting the vaccine into a blood vessel which can cause serious, serious medical issues. And number three, the injector sat back on her chair and threw that needle in like it was a dart, one-handed, didn't even touch them with the other hand, didn't touch the needle with the other hand. It was highly unusual, it was very clearly to me, acting. And then Justin and Sophie also forgot to play out their role in the drama when he forgot to squeeze her hand during the fake jab and when she pulled her shirt sleeve up before she got her Band-Aid.
Users on social media saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Certified nurse confirms justin trudeau and wife sophie faked vaccination on live tv
This video clearly shows the Crime minister is a fraud and bad actor!
Lead Stories reached out to Raquel Adelstein, a Canadian physician, who provided her professional opinion about the claims in an email to Lead Stories on September 22, 2021. Adelstein began with the video narrator's claim that the injection spots for the Trudeaus were not landmarked:
True. We do not see vaccinator landmarking. However, we also do not see vaccinator cleaning site with alcohol swab or asking Justin about any prior reactions to vaccines. Just because we don't see it in the clip, doesnt mean it didn't happen.
Video clip starts with arms already exposed. Likely landmarking occurred before video clip shown begins.
As a medically trained viewer, vaccine entry point seems in keeping with what we would expect with a properly landmarked deltoid injection.
As Adelstein suggested, a full-length version of the vaccination footage shows the Trudeaus receiving an alcohol swab at their injection spots.
Adelstein then addressed the video narrator's claim that there was no aspiration, which is the withdrawal of substance from a needle. Citing immunization guidance from the CDC and Public Health Ontario, Adelstein said aspiration is "not recommended" for such injections:
Rationale for aspirating is to avoid entering blood vessel with needle.
There are no large blood vessels near the intended deltoid injection site, so not a concern and aspiration neither necessary nor recommended.
As for the video narrator's critique of the technique with which the person administering the vaccines to the Trudeaus employed, Adelstein, again citing Public Health Ontario's best practices for vaccine administration, said "'Dart like' entry of needle at 90 degree angle is considered proper technique," and "I am not aware of any evidence that 2 hands are required for the actual vaccination itself [once landmarked]." She went on:
My educated guess as to why the vaccinator used only one hand [which might have appeared somewhat atypical] is that she opted to keep her non dominant hand clear of the vaccinated arm so that camera could capture unobscured images of the vaccination.
In truth, vaccinating with one hand likely required more technical skill on the part of the vaccinator, if anything.
In an email to Lead Stories on September 27, 2021, Harry Heiman, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences at Georgia State University, said:
Fortunately, this was not a training video for best practices in vaccine administration. But failure to model best practices, though no one knows what occurred off camera before the video began, is a far cry from the outrageous claim that they did not receive the vaccine. There is nothing in the video that would lead me to believe that the vaccine was not administered. Looks to me like their vaccination, like mine, was relatively painless and uneventful. Yet another shameful attempt by a healthcare provider to generate misinformation and create a story out of nothing.
Prime Minister Trudeau publicly received his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine -- Moderna -- on July 2, 2021. Mixed COVID-19 vaccine dosage is allowed in Canada. The person who administered his second COVID-19 vaccination used the same technique as when he was given his first dose.
