Canadian COVID-19 study misrepresented in false claims about mass ‘spraying’ of vaccine

A jar of empty COVID-19 vaccine vials is shown at a pharmacy in Toronto on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The second phase of human trials for inhaled aerosol COVID-19 vaccine “AeroVax” is ongoing at a Canadian university. Online posts claimed the vaccine could or would be used in mass airborne vaccinations without consent, or that the university received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These claims are false. The vaccine, which is still in its trial phase and not approved for use in Canada, would involve an inhaler — not mass spraying. The Canadian Press could find no evidence of Bill Gates’s involvement in the study, which is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The claim

“Canada Advances Plan to ‘Vaccinate’ Public with Bill Gates-Funded Covid mRNA Aerosols,” reads part of an Aug. 3 X post.

The post mentions Canada’s plan to “vaccinate the general public using aerosols” through the “AeroVax” vaccine, which is currently undergoing its second phase of human trials at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

The post uses an airplane emoji and includes an image of a crop duster aircraft and Bill Gates, and links to an article that claims Gates’s non-profit foundation is funding the testing because it funds the wider university.

Similar posts from earlier this year claimed the vaccine would be inhaled through the air or that Bill Gates was an investor.

Rating: False

The researchers conducting the AeroVax study told The Canadian Press the vaccine is not designed for mass vaccination.

“Confirming that the AeroVax Inhaled COVID vaccine is designed to be administered to individuals and it not designed to be ‘sprayed’ on the public via aircraft as a form of mass vaccination for people who don’t consent,” research co-ordinator Marilyn Swinton said in an email.

The study protocol, as well, outlines the vaccine would be inhaled by individuals through a mouthpiece using a nebulizer.

An article from McMaster about the study’s Phase 1 results noted the vaccine is “delivered directly to the lungs as an inhaled mist” instead of by needle.

The study’s researchers believe the vaccine could prevent breakthrough COVID-19 infections. Findings from preclinical studies and the Phase 1 trial show the vaccine could be “more effective at inducing immune responses than traditional injected vaccines are, because it directly targets the lungs and upper airways,” according to McMaster.

Keyword searches show spraying the vaccine through aircraft or without the public’s consent isn’t mentioned or implied by the study at all.

A keyword search on the McMaster website shows the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides certain funding opportunities researchers can apply for. But the non-profit is not involved in the AeroVax study.

Swinton, the study’s research co-ordinator, said the AeroVax study is funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the federal agency responsible for medical research funding in Canada.

In March, the agency provided $8,266,315 for the vaccine’s second phase trial over three years.

Sources

Claim posted to X Aug. 3, 2025 (archived) and similar claims posted to X May 2, 2025 here (archived) and here (archived post, archived video)

Frank Bergman. Canada Advances Plan to ‘Vaccinate’ Public with Bill Gates-Funded Covid mRNA Aerosols. Slay News website. Aug. 3, 2025 (archived)

Adam S Komorowski et al. AeroVax: study protocol for a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial to evaluate safety and immunogenicity of a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine delivered by inhaled aerosol to humans. ERJ Open Research via National Library of Medicine website. June 9, 2025 (archived)

Blake Dillon. Promising results from Phase 1 human trials of McMaster’s inhaled COVID-19 vaccine. McMaster University website. July 4, 2025 (archived)

Blake Dillon. Made-at-McMaster inhaled COVID-19 vaccine begins phase-2 human trial. McMaster University website. March 10, 2025 (archived)

A phase 2 trial to evaluate safety and immunogenicity of a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine delivered by inhaled aerosol to humans. Canadian Institutes of Health Research website. Accessed Aug. 5, 2025 (archived)

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press