Covid-19 Vaccines: Get the Facts
COVID-19 Vaccinations
Anyone who can read or hear now knows that vaccines for the Covid-19 virus are becoming available. Locally, many healthcare workers have already received the first of the two-shot vaccine. This vaccine is likely the best hope for ending the pandemic. But as availability for the vaccine increases, so do myths and skepticism. The information below is published by the Mayo Clinic to help separate fact and fiction.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine will alter my DNA.
Fact: The first vaccines to reach the market are mRNA vaccines. According to the CDC, mRNA vaccines work by instructing cells in the body how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. Injecting MRNA into your body will not interact or do anything to the DNA of your cells. Human cells break down and get rid of the mRNA soon after they have finished using the instructions.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine is not safe because it was rapidly developed and tested.
Fact: Many pharmaceutical companies invested significant resources into quickly developing a vaccine for COVID-19 because of the impact of the pandemic. However, companies did NOT bypass safety protocols and did not neglect adequate testing. New technology has enabled companies to develop the vaccine much more quickly than previous vaccines have been developed. The safety of the vaccine is closely monitored by the CDC and the FDA.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine was developed as a way to control the general population either through microchip tracking or nano transducers in our brains.
Fact: There is no vaccine “microchip,” and the vaccine will not track people or gather personal information into a database. This myth started after comments made by Bill Gates about a digital certificate of vaccine records. This does not refer to a microchip. In fact, the technology Gates was referring to has nothing to do with the development, testing, or distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Myth: There are severe side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Fact: There are short-term mild or moderate vaccine reactions that resolve without complication or injury. The early phase studies of the vaccine show that it is safe. About 15% of people develop short-lived symptoms at the site of the injection. 50% develop reactions which are primarily headache, chills, fatigue or muscle pain or fever lasting for a day or two. Keep in mind that these side effects are indicators that your immune system is responding to the vaccine and are common when receiving vaccines.
More information can be found at www.mayoclinic.org