Bonnie Whiffler, marketing and communications for Life the Glynnwood and Life Glynnview shares some facts and myths regarding the Covid-19 vaccine.
The vaccines aren’t safe because they were developed quickly. This is FALSE.
While the Covid-19 vaccines were developed relatively quickly, the clinical trials process was conducted in such a way that safety was not compromised in any way.
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The vaccines can lead to long-term effects. This is FALSE.
With vaccines, a complication or side effect may occur within minutes to hours of receiving the vaccine.
No serious side effects have been detected to date, which indicates that the vaccines will be safe to implement.
You can get Covid-19 from the vaccines. This is FALSE.
You cannot be infected with Covid-19 from the vaccine as there’s no live virus in the vaccine.
The vaccine allows our bodies to produce a single protein from the virus.
While your body makes this protein, side effects may include headache or chills. This is the body creating an immune response, not an infection.
The vaccine intends to limit the severity of Covid-19 should a vaccinated person be infected by the virus.
I’ve already had Covid-19, so I don’t need to get vaccinated. This is FALSE.
The American Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that those who have had Covid-19 still get the vaccine.
The vaccine offers better protection than having had the virus.
The virus has mutated and continues to mutate.
The strain of Covid-19 that a person has had may not be the same as the mutated strain the person has been exposed to.
While the efficacy of the vaccine against new strains of the virus remains unknown at this stage, it is believed that the vaccine will assist in preventing severe Covid-19.
People with underlying conditions and/or suppressed immune systems shouldn’t get vaccinated. This is FALSE.
People who have underlying conditions, such as diabetes and/or heart disease, for example, have higher risks in terms of developing complications from Covid-19.
It is therefore more important that they be vaccinated. The community is encouraged to discuss their concerns with their doctor.
The Covid-19 vaccines will alter your DNA. This is FALSE.
Vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) to protect us from Covid-19.
This essentially gives our cells memory banks that develop protein to protect us from Covid-19.
When exposed to the virus, the memory banks trigger a production of the protective proteins to help fight the virus. Some people are afraid that the mRNA will allow the virus to enter our DNA and mutate us.
This is not so as it does not reach the centre part of the cell where we have our DNA.
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If you get vaccinated, it could make you infertile. This is FALSE.
At present, no data indicate that vaccines cause infertility.
All research from the Clinical Trials have been documented and do not currently confirm this result.
If I’m pregnant or breastfeeding, I definitely shouldn’t get vaccinated. This is FALSE.
Pregnant women who contract viruses can have complications or pass the diseases on to their babies, the same applies to breastfeeding.
As the vaccine is not a live virus, mothers will not pass anything on to their baby.
It has been documented that pregnant women with Covid-19 infections could have a miscarriage or go into premature labour, which emphasises the importance of having the vaccine.
The CDC website advises that “pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with Covid-19 compared with non-pregnant people. If you are pregnant, you can receive a Covid-19 vaccine.”
Getting a Covid-19 vaccine during pregnancy can protect you from severe illness.
If you have questions about getting vaccinated, a conversation with your healthcare provider might help but is not required for vaccination.https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html
Once I get vaccinated, I don’t have to wear masks or practice social distancing. This is FALSE.
Normal infection prevention protocols remain in place – wear masks over your nose and mouth, maintain a physical distance of at least 1.5m and ensure proper hand hygiene.
No vaccine is 100 per cent effective and you won’t be completely immune.
It is too early to know whether vaccinated persons (when exposed) will transmit the virus.
The intention of being vaccinated is to limit the severity of the virus, it does not guarantee total immunity to the virus.
Women are known to have died from blood clots. All women are therefore at risk. This is FALSE.
Research on those cases has shown that the patients had various pre-existing conditions that predisposed them to develop clots.
These clots would have developed even if the vaccine were not administered. It is therefore not proven that the clots are a direct result of having the vaccine.
