"As for the murder... as strange as it sounds, there are psychotic or neurological situations because of the vaccine," said Dr. Rotem Inbar, an obstetrician from Sheba Medical Center, in a WhatsApp group with 250 members according to N12.
"A long relationship like the one described, that is good and caring. And suddenly he doesn't understand what happened and experienced a blackout. Of course it is most likely not that, it just made me think of the option," Inbar went on to say.
Inbar appeared to be referencing a statement made by Raz in which he said that he did not know what came over him when he shot his wife Diana. Inbar appears to hint that the coronavirus vaccine could have caused Raz to experience neurological symptoms that made him allegedly murder his wife.
Diana Raz was found dead in her home in Naale in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council last week. Amir Raz alerted authorities and later confessed to the murder. He will be evaluated by a psychiatrist, Walla reported.
The Health Ministry censured Inbar, releasing a statement saying, "A doctor without the proper training expressed herself in a miserable and absurd way in a WhatsApp group. We regard this as a very grave situation and, at the instruction of Health Ministry Director-General Chezy Levy, the doctor will be summoned for a clarification meeting. It is expected that healthcare workers will be careful not to disseminate fake news."
The Health Ministry has been combating fake news spreading regarding the coronavirus vaccine and has launched a special team that will combat the false information found online and in the public space, according to N12.
As Israel continues to lead the world in vaccinating its population, the Health Ministry has found that very few Israelis are reporting feeling side effects after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Most of the side effects were minor and temporary.
A Health Ministry monitoring committee found that only 6,575 out of 2,768,200 (0.24%) Israelis who received the first dose of the vaccine reported side effects and that 3,592 out of 1,377,827 (0.26%) Israelis who received the second dose reported side effects. The rate at which side effects are being reported is similar to that of other vaccinations routinely administered to the population and most of the people who did experience side effects were young or pregnant.
Inbar responded to the incident, saying, "My words were taken out of context. Following reports of side effects of the Pfizer vaccine by those who were vaccinated, I brought up my musings in a closed WhatsApp group. In the next message I expressed reservations. I am sorry that my words were not properly understood."
Tzvi Joffre and Tamar Beeri contributed to this report.