Misconceptions

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The COVID 19 vaccine has recently been released to some of the public. In many states, such as Massachusetts and New York, the vaccine is available to any person over 65 years of age or any person with two health conditions that increase their risk of death due to the virus. With the full release of the Vaccine nearing, the U.S. and much of the world has seen a spike of people unwilling to accept vaccines in general.

The Associated Press in a survey found that almost a third of the American populace will not be taking the vaccine, with 15% stating they will “definitely not” receive the vaccine, and another 17% stating they will “probably not” get the vaccine. This spike in refusals to take the vaccine is believed to be caused by widespread misinformation on social media (facebook in particular). This number is concerningly high, Dr. Anthony Fauci–Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases– stated in an interview with the New York Times when talking about the required percentage of the population vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity “We really don’t know what the real number is. I think the real range is somewhere between 70 to 90 percent. But, I’m not going to say 90 percent”.

So if experts believe that we need to be in the 70-90% range to achieve herd immunity and only 68% of Americans have stated they are willing to get vaccinated, then we are going to fall short of the required amount. Below is a compiled list of Common Misconceptions regarding the different COVID 19 Vaccines.

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General Misconceptions

• The COVID Vaccine can give someone who takes it covid 
  • This is false the COVID Vaccine does not contain any amount of COVID in the vaccine.

• After taking the Covid Vaccine you will test positive for COVID 
  • This is false after receiving the vaccine, nothing from the vaccine will make you test positive. 

• I do not need to get Vaccinated after I have already had COVID 
  • This is NOT true, after getting COVID experts do not know how long you will be immune for so it is recommended that you get vaccinated

•  The COVID vaccine was rushed and is unsafe 
  • The reason why the COVID Vaccine took so little time was not because it was rushed and safety measures were skipped over, but was due to the entire medical world focusing on getting a safe vaccine.   

• Is it possible that the covid vaccine could contain a microchip
  • This is absolutely a NO, the COVID vaccine is administered through needles size 22-25 gauge whereas microchips require 12-15gauge needles. The smaller the gauge the larger opening is required, so it is not possible for a microchip to be administered through a vaccine.

• There are severe side effects of the COVID vaccine 
  • The main side effects of the vaccine are short term mild reactions to the vaccine. These reactions, including headaches and muscle pain, are a sign that your immune system is reacting to the vaccine and are very common. 
  • It is possible to receive a slight fever after the injection, however this again is just a sign your body is reacting to the vaccine, albeit more rare than the other side effects. 

• The COVID vaccine was developed using fetal tissue
  • “Neither the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine nor the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines contain fetal cells nor were fetal cells used for the development or production of either vaccine.” – Mayo Clinic 

• I have an egg allergy so I can not take the vaccine 
  • No current vaccine has been developed using eggs or have any eggs within them.

• The COVID vaccine causes infertility or miscarriages 
  • COVID vaccines have not been linked to infertility or miscarriages. Among pregnant women who have already received the vaccine there has been no evidence of a higher rate of miscarriages. The main claim of how infertility would occur after taking the vaccine is that the anti-bodies from the vaccine that were created to spike the protein of COVID would also blind placental proteins and prevent pregnancy. There has been no study or evidence to prove this, and there has been nothing that shows the spiking of the COVID protein would affect the placental proteins.

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Misinformation

Social Media has allowed the uncontrollable spread of fake news and information causing chaos and uncertainty among the general public.

Fake news is not new, but it’s never been so pervasive or harder to spot. In a study conducted by Monmouth University in 2018, out of the 803 respondents who were 18 or older, over half reported that they see fake news stories on their social media at least once a day

1. Any side affect people experience after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is due to the vaccine
   1. Dr. Derek Lowe explains that deaths and other negative occurrences happen naturally and are not due to the vaccine. In an interview he explained, “…if you take 10 million people and just wave your hand back and forth over their upper arms, in the next two months you would expect to see about 4,000 heart attacks. About 4,000 strokes. Over 9,000 new diagnoses of cancer. And about 14,000 of that ten million will die, out of usual all-causes mortality. No one would notice. That’s how many people die and get sick anyway. But if you took those ten million people and gave them a new vaccine instead, there’s a real danger that those heart attacks, cancer diagnoses, and deaths will be attributed to the vaccine.”

1. One example of how misinformation is used and spread:
   1. 4 out of 22,000 people who were tested with the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 developed the disease Bell’s palsy, which temporarily paralyzes muscles in the face
      1. The article was taken and the story became exaggerated and distorted
      2. Scientists have said that the number of people who developed Bell’s palsy is consistent with the number of people who have the disease in the actual population, and thus is not connected to the people getting the vaccine