No, French virologist Luc Montagnier didn’t say COVID-19 vaccine recipients were going to die soon

A dire warning is being shared on Facebook — that "all vaccinated people will die within two years."

"Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier has confirmed that there is no chance of survival for people who have received any form of the vaccine," the post says. "In the shocking interview, the world’s top virologist stated blankly: ‘There is no hope and no possible treatment for those who have been vaccinated already. We must be prepared to incinerate the bodies.’ The scientific genius backed claims of other pre-eminent virologists after studying the constituents of the vaccine. ‘They will all die from antibody dependent enhancement. Nothing more can be said.’"

We actually have something to add: This is not an authentic quote. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Luc Montagnier, a French virologist, shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with two other scientists in 2008 for his role in discovering HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

More recently, he has opposed mandatory vaccinations in France and drawn criticism from fellow academics for broadcasting what they called messages dangerous to public health. 

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on April 9, 2024 in a Facebook post

Notice from a New Jersey doctor’s office proves that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous for athletes.

In a clip of an interview posted online in mid-May, Montagnier claims that the COVID-19 vaccines have produced the new coronavirus variants and that "the curve of vaccination is followed by the curve of deaths" thanks to "antibody dependent enhancement," which he said creates more severe disease. (PolitiFact and Reuters looked into these claims and concluded that they’re inaccurate.)

But Montagnier’s interview does not include the statement about vaccinated people dying within two years.

RAIR Foundation USA, which describes itself as Americans "leading a movement to reclaim our Republic from the network of individuals and organizations waging war on Americans, our Constitution, our borders and our Judeo-Christian values," shared the clip on May 18 under the headline: "Bombshell: Nobel Prize winner reveals — COVID vaccine is ‘creating variants.’"

But another post on the foundation’s website a week later disputed what it characterized as "lies" that falsely attributed to Montagnier the quote that all vaccine recipients would die in two years. 

We couldn’t find any evidence that Montagnier made the statement that appears in the Facebook post. There are no credible sources corroborating this online, nor any news coverage reporting on the scientist’s claims. 

We rate this post False.