Addressing 13 COVID-19 vaccine myths.
Of all the modern medical interventions we have at our disposal, few have been victim to as much falsehood as vaccines. As the world battles a pandemic, stripping the truth from the lies is more urgent than ever.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2010 and 2015, vaccines prevented an estimated 10 million deaths.
Scientists have worked tirelessly to create safe and effective vaccines to protect us against SARS-CoV-2. Now, as many governments roll out COVID-19 vaccines, scientists and medical experts are facing a new challenge: misinformation and associated vaccine hesitancy.
Some anti-vaxxers — individuals who believe vaccines cause a range of medical ills — dedicate their entire lives to railing against vaccines. In reality, vaccines have saved lives of millions of people.
Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new and, in many ways, perfectly reasonable. For instance, misinformation about the vaccines’ safety and potential effects on the body is rife on the internet. Also, the COVID-19 vaccines were developed unusually swiftly and use relatively new technology.
In this article, we will tackle these concerns head on.
Today, a significant percentage of the United States population, and the world at large, are nervous to take a shot that could save their lives.
In this article, we tackle some of the most common myths associated with the COVID-19 vaccines. Although it will not convince dyed-in-the-wool anti-vaxxers, we hope that this information will prove useful for those who are hesitant. We will cover the following myths:
- The vaccines are not safe, because they were developed so fast
- The vaccine will alter my DNA
- COVID-19 vaccines can give you COVID-19
- The vaccine contains a microchip
- COVID-19 vaccines can make you infertile
- COVID-19 vaccines contain fetal tissue
- People who have had COVID-19 do not need the vaccine
- After receiving the vaccine, you cannot transmit the virus
- Once I have been vaccinated, I can resume a normal life
- The vaccine will protect against COVID-19 for life
- People with preexisting conditions cannot take the vaccine
- People with compromised immune systems cannot have the vaccine
- Older adults cannot have the vaccine
Article highlights:
The vaccine will alter my DNA.
Some COVID-19 vaccines, including the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, are based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. These vaccines work differently to traditional types of vaccine.
Classical vaccines introduce an inactivated pathogen or part of a pathogen to the body to “teach” it how to produce an immune response.
By contrast, an mRNA vaccine delivers the instructions for making a pathogen’s protein to our cells. Once the protein is created, the immune system responds to it, priming it to respond to future attacks by the same pathogen.
However, the mRNA does not hang around in the body, and it is not integrated into our DNA. Once it has provided the instructions, the cell breaks it down.
In fact, the mRNA will not even reach the cell’s nucleus, which is where our DNA is housed.
