A doctor who became one of the first people in Europe to receive a potential coronavirus vaccine says she is “doing fine” after rumours claimed she had died.
Dr Elisa Granato is one of two people at the centre of a pioneering University of Oxford trial that if successful would offer a way out of lockdown.
The microbiologist, who researches at the university, is among more than 800 people who have been recruited to test the vaccine, which researchers hope to have ready by September.
But baseless rumours began to circulate among anti-vax groups on Sunday that claimed the zoology expert had died from complications after being injected.
The article, debunked as fake news, falsely claimed doctors had been unaware of her pre-existing medical conditions.
Dr Granato, who took part in the trial on her 32nd birthday, was forced to inform friends and colleagues that she was in fact alive.
She tweeted: "Nothing like waking up to a fake article on your death... I'm doing fine everyone. Please don't share the article in question, we don't want to give them attention / clicks. Have a cute cat instead!"
She previously told the BBC after being injected on her 32nd birthday: "I'm a scientist, so I wanted to try to support the scientific process wherever I can.
"Since I don’t study viruses, I felt a bit useless these days, so I felt like this is a very easy way for me to support the cause."
A separate team at Imperial College London is also racing to find a successful vaccine that can be rolled out across the UK to defeat the pandemic.
