“Without vax, there is no food”, that is, “without a vaccine, there is no food”, is the theory that users of various social networks are spreading, regarding the Emergency aid policy for the population in Ukraineduring the Russian invasion.

On Facebook, a post shared on May 7 shows a screenshot of a message shared on Telegram with a link to an alleged news detailing the financing policy for the people most affected by the war in the country. This is one of many posts sharing the theory “no vax, no food”.

In the message it can be read that “the Ukrainian government announces emergency payments for those who suffer from the war” but that these Payments are limited to people who have “two doses of the vaccine” against Covid-19. In addition, this aid, which would aim to help the people most affected by the war to buy essential goods, would only be done “through a new system of digital currencies.”

The message ends with: “The truth always comes out. Now we can see the reality of this conflict.”

This publication is not the first to state that only citizens vaccinated against Covid-19 are having access to the emergency aid announced by the Ukrainian government. Others share a video with the announcement of the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who presents the support plan of the Ukrainian government.

The Ukrainian government announces “one-time payments” for those most affected by the war

On March 6, the Ukrainian head of government announced the plan for the “transition to the war economy” and “one time payments for those who lost their jobs”. According to the English version of the official announcement, Shmyhal explains that “with this program, every employee, every employer who lost their job during the war will be entitled to a from 200 euros”. In the announcement, the Ukrainian Prime Minister revealed that This social assistance program would work in a way “similar to vaccination payments” against Covid-19with the help of the Diia app.

It was this appointment that led to the explosion of the “no vax, no food” theory, according to which only citizens fully vaccinated against covid-19 would be entitled to emergency aid from the Ukrainian government.

don’t go without food…

The Ukrainian government announces emergency payments to those affected by the war.

But only if you are vaccinated. And only through the digital system.

ARE YOU STARTING TO JOIN THE DOTS? pic.twitter.com/6bR8kHCrkB

— IsRedRum (@RedRum2198) March 16, 2022

Let’s go by parts. The Diia digital app really exists and, according to the official portal of the Ukrainian government, it aims to make “100% of public services available online”. The app has more than 3.6 million users and provides more than 50 online government services, including access to documents such as citizen card, passport, student card, driver’s license, and birth certificate.

The Ukrainian government also uses the Diia app to offer incentives to the population that receives the two doses of the vaccine against Covid-19, of the order of 30 euros. The show was finally discontinued in April 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Despite this, if we consult the full speech of the Ukrainian Prime Minister on March 6, it is possible to understand that Denys Shmyhal explained that this emergency support for the unemployed could be paid through the same app that paid for vaccination incentives, the day. Which is the application that tries to concentrate a large majority of government services in the same online platform.

Analyzing the discourse as a whole, we can verify that there is no reference to compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 be entitled to financial aid from the Ukrainian government.

Even earlier, an announcement on the page of the Ukrainian presidency clarifies that there are no vaccination requirements for recipients of financial aid. The statement says that “every citizen of Ukraine who has been prevented by Russia from the opportunity to work will receive 200 euros, without any conditions.”

conclusion

Publications that accuse the Ukrainian government of making the allocation of emergency aid during the war dependent on vaccines against Covid-19 are misrepresenting the words of the country’s prime minister.

The “No vax, no food” theory only exists on social media. Denys Shmyhal explains that the emergency payment of the order of 200 euros to people who lost their jobs during the war would be made through the Diia application, which provides 50 government services online, including the payment of vaccination incentives against the Covid-19, of the order of 30 euros

In addition to the similar payment method, there is no reference to compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 in order to qualify for economic aid from the Ukrainian government.

Thus, according to the Observer classification, this content is:

WRONG

In the Facebook rating system, this content is:

FAKE: The main content claims are factually inaccurate. In general, this option matches “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.

NOTE: This content was selected by The Observer as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.