An anti-vaccine social media account that has spread false claims about COVID-19 in the past attempts to link Bill Gates to a rare mosquito-borne virus called Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) reported in two states in August 2023. The post implies that Gates created the virus to sell new vaccines.
Responding to each conspiracy theory may detract from priority talking points. A few human EEEV cases are recorded in the U.S. each year, including two in Alabama in 2023. In the 1930s, the virus was first found to be transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. Although there is currently no EEEV vaccine for humans, vaccines may be developed as they have been in response to other naturally emerging diseases.
