WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A new aircraft-deployed aerosol vaccine is linked to abnormal clouds in Brisbane.
OUR VERDICT
False. The aerosol vaccines can't be administered by aircraft and the pictured clouds are a natural weather phenomena.
AAP FACTCHECK - Images of a striking cloud formation are not evidence that aerosol vaccines are being spread over Brisbane by aircraft, despite claims online.
While a COVID-19 vaccine inhalant is in development, it's not designed to be spread by aircraft, and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says the clouds shown in the post are natural.
The false claims were shared on Instagram in a video post tying trials of mRNA aerosol vaccines in Canada to images of clouds above Brisbane.
"Canada's liberal government is advancing plans to roll out a new Covid mRNA 'vaccine' to 'vaccinate' the general public using aerosols," text from an X post in the first frame of the video reads.
"The new AeroVax seeks to overcome 'vaccine hesitancy' by using aerosols to 'vaccinate' the general public."
The X post also includes an aeroplane emoji, a photo of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and an image of an aeroplane producing white emissions.
The second frame of the video cuts to another X post from an Australian-based user showing a recent cloud formation near Brisbane and text reading: "How can anyone think these are just everyday clouds?"
The Instagram post's caption reads: "#Canada #Australia and worldwide."
The claim refers to AeroVax, a needle-free COVID vaccine that can be inhaled, currently being developed by researchers in Canada.
Claims AeroVax can be administered by aircraft have already been debunked by The Canadian Press, with research co-ordinator Marilyn Swinton stating the vaccines are designed to be administered to individuals and can't be administered the way the post is suggesting.
AAP FactCheck also contacted Fiona Smaill, one of the leaders of the AeroVax research program, to confirm the claims are false.
Professor Smaill said the information in The Canadian Press article was correct, adding: "We have been getting trouble with misinformation circulating."
A study she co-authored makes clear the vaccine is designed to be inhaled through a mouthpiece.
Experts have previously told fact checkers that it isn't possible to administer a vaccine via spraying from an aircraft.
Dorothee von Laer, of the Institute of Virology at Innsbruck Medical University, told AFP Fact Check in 2023 that the method would not work, as it would be impossible to deliver a sufficient concentration of vaccine to the nose and lungs if dispersed from an aircraft.
Professor W Mark Saltzman, a biomedical engineer at Yale University, also told Factcheck.org it's not possible to vaccinate by spraying vaccine into the air, while Professor Michelle McIntosh, a drug delivery expert at Monash University, previously told AAP FactCheck the method wasn't "feasible or sensible".
Contrary to the description in the post, the clouds pictured in the second slide are known as undulatus clouds, a natural weather phenomenon that occurs in Australia.
There are various types of undulatus cloud formations, often characterised by distinct linear patterns, which can result from temperature variations in the atmosphere.
The BOM told AAP FactCheck altocumulus undulatus clouds formed over Brisbane on August 1, 2025, and "persisted for several hours" before thickening to "full coverage", adding: "At these heights, altocumulus undulatus clouds are a sign of strong winds."
The BOM maintains a glossary of cloud formations observed in Australia on its website, including altocumulus clouds, which are characterised by wavy-looking lines.
These "wave" clouds occur globally, according to NASA.
"The initial disturbance creates a propagating wave that continues to spread, causing air to rise and drop again and again until the wave dissipates," the agency's website explains.
"The end result is long lines of clouds that mark the crests of the waves, with cloud-free areas between them that correspond to the troughs of the waves."
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