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A photo shared on Instagram allegedly shows an article claiming birth rates in Australia dramatically dropped following COVID-19 vaccinations. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @boop_the_world Verdict: False This claim originates from a website that regularly publishes misinformation. A report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the birth rate increased, not decreased, between 2020 and 2021. Fact Check: Australia introduced a new COVID-19 vaccine to boost supply and combat a surge in cases, but did not recommend a fifth vaccine dose as of now, according to The Guardian . Experts are also concerned as the U.S. and other nations could see a surge in cases as the winter approaches and gatherings move indoors, The New York Times reported. The Facebook post purports Australia has seen a massive drop in birth rates due to the COVID-19 vaccination. The post shares a screenshot of an article attributed to Sean Adl-Tabatabai with an image of three empty baby cribs and a Fact Checked certification. Australia Sees 63% Drop in Births After Introduction of Toxic Covid Jabs – Govt Baffled, the headline reads. (RELATED: Did The UK Ban The COVID-19 Vaccine Due To Health Concerns?) The claim is false. Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to corroborate the claim. The article itself stems from the online website NewsPunch , which has repeatedly been criticized for spreading misinformation, according to FactCheck.org and Google . A spokesperson for the Australian Embassy in America directed Check Your Fact to a news release on birth rates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics . The report shows that the birth rate did not decrease, but instead increased by 5.3%. COVID vaccines were first available in Australia on Feb. 22, 2021, according to the Australian Department of Health . Check Your Fact has reached out to the Australian Department of Health for a comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received. This is not the first time misinformation about foreign countries has spread online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim 15,000 Iranian protesters were sentenced to death.
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