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COVID-19 Vaccines: Myth vs Facts

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Among the many reasons COVID-19 vaccination rates in the United States peaked earlier than experts hoped then, rather than crescendoing into the summer months, began trending downward—are myths that took hold among the unvaccinated and solidified as their reasons not to get the shots. “The vaccine will make women sterile”; “the vaccines are too new”; “the shots have a microchip in them; the vaccine itself will give me COVID”; “I’m immune because I had COVID”; “breakthrough cases prove vaccines are useless”. There are more. And none of them are true. 

Myth meaning: pronounced mith; noun; definition: a widely held but false belief or idea; synonyms: misconception, fallacy, fantasy, fiction.

But no matter how convincing and irrefutable the science and the data about the COVID-19 vaccines are, misinformation spreads so easily and quickly—largely through social media networks—that it has become a major barrier stopping the United States from reaching higher levels of vaccination (190 million people, or 57% of Americans, have received at least one shot) that would bring us closer to herd immunity.

So let us cut to the chase. Myth vs. Fact. This article took some of the most widespread myths to two leading infectious disease experts, If these two experts encountered someone on the street who cited one of these myths as their reason not to get vaccinated, this is what they would say to them. Here are 9 Myths vs Facts:

MYTH 1: The COVID vaccines were not rigorously tested, which is why they have only emergency authorisation approval and not full Food and Drug Administration approval. (Update: Pfizer’s vaccine received full FDA approval on August 19)

FACT: “Vaccine developers didn’t skip any testing steps, but conducted some of the steps on an overlapping schedule to gather data faster.”—Johns Hopkins Medicine

MYTH 2: The technology used to create the COVID vaccines is too new to be safe.

FACT:The technology used, called messenger RNA, or mRNA, is not new. Research on it actually began in the early 1990s, and two diseases that are very close to COVID—SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003, and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome)—helped bring the mRNA vaccine development to present day use.—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

MYTH 3: Breakthrough cases prove that even if I get the vaccine, I might still get COVID. So why bother?

FACT: As of August 9, the CDC said there had been 8,054 vaccinated people who were hospitalised or died who had also tested positive for coronavirus—out of more than 166 million fully vaccinated Americans. That’s roughly .005 percent. Additionally, CDC director Rochelle Walensky has said that 99.5% of all deaths from COVID-19 are in the unvaccinated.—Politifact, Fact Checking Joe Biden’s Figure on Unvaccinated COVID-19 Deaths

MYTH 4: The COVID vaccines can affect a woman’s fertility.

FACT: This rumour started after a report claimed inaccurately, yet circulated on social media, that the SPIKE protein on this coronavirus was the same as another protein called syncytin-1 that is involved in the growth and attachment of the placenta during pregnancy. It was quickly debunked as false by the scientific community.—STAT News, Shattering the Infertility Myth

MYTH 5: I already had COVID, therefore I don’t need the vaccine. I am immune.

FACT: “After people recover from infection with a virus, the immune system retains a memory of it,” the National Institutes of Health explains. While that’s good for the immune system, it also means that even after you recover from COVID, it’s still inside your body and can resurface. Studies have been unclear how long immunity lasts after having COVID—most experts believe anywhere from 90 days to six months, though it could be longer.—National Institutes of Health

MYTH 6: Children do not need to be vaccinated because they do not become sick from COVID-19.

FACT: “Hundreds of children in Indonesia have died from the coronavirus in recent weeks, many of them under age 5.” A five-year old boy in the state of Georgia died of coronavirus in July.—The New York Times , and CNN

MYTH 7: I’m vaccinated. So I can drop all my COVID precautions, right?

FACT: Studies have shown that a person infected with the Delta variant of COVID has roughly 1,000 times more copies of the virus in their respiratory tracts than a person infected with the original strain.—CDC, Delta Variant: What We Know About the Science

MYTH 8: Getting the COVID vaccine actually gives you COVID.

FACT: It is not medically possible. The vaccine does not contain the virus.—Johns Hopkins Medicine

MYTH 9: A microchip, with the backing of Bill Gates, is being implanted with the vaccine.

FACT: This one started when Microsoft cofounder Gates said in an interview: “We will have some digital certificates” that could ultimately show who’s been tested and who’s been vaccinated. (Alas, he never mentioned microchips.)—BBC, Coronavirus: Bill Gates Microchip Conspiracy Theory

In Summary

Whilst this is not necessarily the views of BALANCED HEALING as we believe it is still an individuals choice to be vaccinated. Based on true documented well researched information sourced from reputable institutions the facts speak for themselves. The only way we can get rid of this virus is for people to get vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity.

Test your knowledge about COVID-19

Test your vaccine knowledge and see how many myths you can spot!: https://act.one.org/survey/myth-or-vax/?utm_source=google-search&source=google-search&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=one-world&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkNiMBhCxARIsAIDDKNXMaw0vKw-Wny-3VFi2l9a5vRsK3iBC7dnCHeGsq34GGjndTfXxk-kaAtQ2EALw_wcB

Reference

Website: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/myths-vs-facts-covid-19-vaccine/

Website: https://act.one.org/survey/myth-or-vax/