Elon Musk has caused a stir on social media after posting a statement on Twitter, saying that he supports vaccines in general and inoculations against coronavirus specifically. "The science is unequivocal", Musk wrote in his post, adding that the jabs are safe.
Almost 10,000 people commented on his statement, which also received 170,000 likes. While many users sided with the tech maverick...
…Others expressed doubt about the vaccines' efficacy.
One user went as far as to claim that inoculations are a chemical weapon.
Others spoke about the danger of COVID-19 and wondered whether Musk himself would get the jab.
Many users advised Musk against giving medical advice, referring to his remark that EpiPen can address an allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine.
Musk has made numerous controversial statements during the pandemic. He downplayed the risk of COVID-19 and last year suggested that by the end of April the United States would have zero cases. The country has turned out to be the worst-hit nation by the infectious disease, with almost 31 million contracting COVID-19 and 559,000 dying from it, according to John Hopkins University.
The tech maverick previously said that neither he nor members of his family plan to get a coronavirus vaccine. The father of six said he and his family are not in the risk group, therefore there is no need for them to get an inoculation.
Last month, he was criticised after claiming that there is a debate about getting a second shot of inoculations as they reportedly can cause "quite a few negative reactions".