The new definition of "vaccine", published in May, reads: "a preparation that is administered – as by injection – to stimulate the body's immune response against a specific infectious agent or disease." "Merriam-Webster adds definitions and evolves existing ones to accurately report on how words are used," he said.Īccording to an archived version of the dictionary's website, Merriam-Webster formerly said a "vaccine" was "a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease." Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, told USA TODAY in an email that the company changed its "vaccine" definition to include more scientifically accurate language. Definition changed 'immunity' to 'immune response' USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment. The company told USA TODAY the goal was to be scientifically accurate about how vaccines work, not to question their effectiveness.
Merriam-Webster revised its "vaccine" definition to replace "immunity" with "immune response." The change also addresses the new technology of mRNA vaccines in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The post generated close to 27,000 likes in less than a week. Other social media users have shared false claims that Merriam-Webster changed the definition of "anti-vaxxer," PolitiFact reported.įact check: Claim is missing context on WHO's parental-consent guidelines for vaccinating children "Now, Merriam Webster has literally changed the definition of 'vaccine' and removed the 'immunity' portion in order to possibly cover for the fact that the COVID 'vaccines' don't actually provide immunity from COVID."
"Vaccine used to be defined as a substances that provides 'immunity' to a specific disease," reads the text of an Instagram post shared Nov. Merriam-Webster, the company known for its reference books and dictionaries, has become the source of online misinformation about vaccines. Associated Press, USA TODAY The claim: Merriam-Webster removed the immunity part of its 'vaccine' definition
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