It’s a claim popping up all over social media. Several viral posts claim mandating COVID-19 vaccinations is a violation of “the Nuremberg Code.”
The biggest post, posted on Aug. 16, showed a man driving up to a Walmart, claiming he was going to “present documents to the pharmacist, letting them know what they are doing is crimes against humanity and what they are doing is a violation of the Nuremberg Code, and if they do not stand down immediately, then they could be executed.”
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The man, identified as Christopher Key, is a known anti-vaccine advocate and has a history of making discredited medical claims, the Washington Post reports.
Additionally, the Nuremberg Code has nothing to do with COVID-19 vaccines. The “Code” dates back to after World War II. It’s a set of medical ethics that led to the prosecution and execution of several Nazi doctors who carried out experiments on victims in concentration camps.
Experts say COVID-19 vaccines don’t apply to this set of ethics because the vaccines are not experimental. Vaccines are authorized for emergency use and have gone through extensive clinical trials. The FDA recently fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Lastly, the Nuremberg Code has not been adopted as law in the United States. Even if it were applicable, it wouldn’t be legally enforceable in America.