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As the COVID-19 coronavirus disease spread around the world, a false claim gained traction in India during March 2020 via social media, including messages in WhatsApp. A series of posts claimed that vegetarians were unaffected by the disease, attributing it to the World Health Organization (WHO). On March 14, a post from the Facebook page I Support Indian Army (only radical Hindus join: please get 150 Hindus to join) was shared more than 600 times. The post says: But the WHO's website does not include a report claiming that vegetarians are not susceptible to contracting COVID-19. Another post forwarded to Snopes on WhatsApp attributes a quote to Dr. Gauden Galea, the WHO representative in China. In February, he's shown saying in a Facebook video from a page called Lebanese Vegans: Galea's statement was in fact taken out of context. Indian news outlet The Logical Indian found a CNN report from January 2020 where he first made the statement after the origins of COVID-19 and its ability to spread from person-to-person was discovered. In an email exchange with The Logical Indian, he clarified: Scientists suggest that COVID-19 likely came from bats first, possibly passing through an intermediary animal before infecting humans. The hypothesis that COVID-19 emerged at a live animal market at Wuhan is also inconclusive according to Dr. Stephen Turner, head of the department of microbiology at Melbourne’s Monash University. But the interactions of different species at wet markets with fresh meat, fish, and perishables has been identified as an issue, according to immunologist Dr. Michelle Baker. On Twitter, the following message was copied and retweeted hundreds of times, even though it appears to be from a parody account: The post, from March 14, says: This seemingly satirical post was shared by other non-parody accounts as well. The post suggests that the vegetarian lifestyle, particularly in the context of Hinduism, has protected people from contracting the virus. It also mentions rituals and belief systems specific to elements of Hinduism. Only 23-37% of Indians are estimated to be vegetarians, even though 80% of the population is Hindu. Hindus still make up a big proportion of meat eaters in the country, with an estimated one-third of upper-caste Hindus adhering to a vegetarian diet. It should also be noted that the above series of posts are proliferating on social media during a time of heightened anti-Muslim sentiment in India. Social media posts blaming the spread of the virus on the Muslim minority community are increasing, including the use of hashtags such as #CoronaJihad. In the past, Muslims and other minority groups have been targeted and faced violence over accusations of slaughtering cows and eating beef. The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also released a post busting this myth, recommending that everyone should mainly eat thoroughly cooked food: This aligns with the WHO's recommendations on how to consume meat: The WHO also has guidelines for those who work in meat markets, particularly discouraging the slaughter and consumption of animals that were sick. Thus, no evidence exists to support the claim that a vegetarian lifestyle can protect someone from contracting COVID-19, a claim that has been debunked by both media outlets and the Indian government. Furthermore, the WHO and its China representative, Galea, have made no recommendations based on diet. Their statements instead focus on the possible risks of COVID-19 spreading in spaces where meat is exchanged, and methods to process and consume meat and poultry safely. Considering that information, we rate this claim as False.
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