An online article claimed microbiologist Elisa Granato, who took part in the UK trial in Oxford on Thursday, had died following complications when taking the vaccine.
The Government later said the story is ‘completely untrue’, and warned people about sharing unsubstantiated claims online.
Following the article about her ‘death’, Dr Granato tweeted about the news before making her Twitter account private.
She wrote: ‘Nothing like waking up to a fake article on your death … I’m doing fine everyone.’
Dr Granato was one of two people to take part in the trial and said she was ‘excited’ to support the efforts by volunteering.
On Sunday afternoon, the Department of Health and Social Care tweeted: ‘News circulating on social media that the first volunteer in a UK coronavirus vaccine trial has died is completely untrue.
‘Before sharing unsubstantiated claims online, use the Share checklist to help stop the spread of harmful content.’
Earlier this month, the Government relaunched its Don’t Feed The Beast public information campaign to encourage people to question what they read online.
The Share checklist includes basic advice, such as checking the source of a story and analysing the facts before sharing.
A Covid-19 vaccine is considered the ultimate exit strategy by many experts, and scientists across the world are racing to develop one that can be produced at scale.
The Oxford Vaccine Group hopes to have at least a million doses of its candidate ready in September.
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