August 19, 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine: Myths & Facts
Myth: The vaccines were rushed, so they are not safe.
Fact: COVID-19 closely resembles other coronaviruses that researchers and vaccine makers have studied for many years. Operation Warp Speed helped to expedite the vaccine process by offering money and resources while still following all steps for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. This included large clinical trials to meet safety standards with participants from different ages, races, ethnicities, and medical conditions. Because the disease was so widespread, it was easier to enroll the number of people needed for these studies.
The bar for ensuring vaccine safety is set very high. The COVID-19 vaccines met all safety standards for FDA emergency use authorization and will be continually monitored. They would not have been approved if they were not safe and effective.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells.
Fact: For the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, no fetal cell lines were used to produce or manufacture the vaccine, and they are not inside the injection you receive. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine did use fetal cell cultures (which are not the same as fetal tissue) during the manufacturing process. None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain any aborted fetal cells.
Myth: The vaccines can cause infertility.
Fact: According to the CDC, there is no evidence that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men. If you are trying to become pregnant now or want to get pregnant in the future, you may receive a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available to you.
Myth: The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer & Moderna) can change your DNA.
Fact: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both use messenger RNA, or mRNA for short. mRNA vaccines have been studied for at least 10 years for other viruses. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give instructions for our cells to make harmless spike proteins that match the ones found in COVID-19—so our body can develop an immune response. After the mRNA strands are used, your body gets rid of them.
Our DNA is located in the nucleus of our cell. The mRNA vaccines never enter the nucleus of the cell and operate in a completely different cellular department making it impossible to alter or interact with our DNA in any way.
Myth: No one knows what the effects will be from the vaccine in years to come.
Fact: Just as it is important to think about the long-term effects of the vaccine, it is also important to consider long-term effects of COVID-19 itself. While true long-term data is lacking, we are starting to learn about COVID-19 “long-haulers” – people who experience issues months beyond their initial recovery. Chronic symptoms may include fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain, and chest pain. Imaging tests taken months after recovery have shown damage to the heart muscle, even in people who experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms. This may increase the risk of heart failure or other heart complications in the future.
It’s accurate to say that the virus is smaller than “mask materials.” But the Covid (SARS-Cov-2) virus doesn’t spread independently. It is spread in droplets and masks work very well at preventing the spread of droplets. It’s best when we choose the right mask (N95 for high risk situations), a mask that fits well (so droplets don’t get in around the sides, for example) and when EVERYONE wears one. It’s still true that the mask I wear helps protect you and the one you wear helps protect me.
Some say the virus is so small compared to even high quality masks that their use is really not helpful. Is it accurate to say that the virus is significantly smaller than most mask materials?