Jane Lee MD wins if she gets a Covid-19 shot in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
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Vaccine skepticism and outright anti-vaccination sentiment have grown strong in recent months, while more members of the public question not only the effectiveness of vaccines, but also their development practices, safety standards and their objectives.
The rapid development of coronavirus vaccines over the past year, an urgent task, given the devastation of lives and livelihoods caused by the global pandemic, has made it an important target for hesitation and myth.
But misinformation and misinformation that casts doubt on safety and efficiency can endanger lives.
The World Health Organization has said vaccine vaccination is one of the top 10 global health threats in 2019. According to the vaccine, 2-3 million deaths a year are prevented, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global vaccination coverage improves. .
When it comes to Covid-19 vaccines, experts and public health officials say that it is crucial to combat misinformation (false or inaccurate information) and that the misinformation (ie false information that people want to mislead) is spread over the jabs currently being deployed. . Here are some of the major myths spread about coronavirus vaccinations:
Myth: Covid-19 vaccines are unsafe because they were developed too fast
Fact: The coronavirus vaccines now being deployed have undergone rigorous and rigorous clinical trials involving thousands of human participants after the initial animal trials.
Vaccinators insisted that no corners were cut and the test results proved that the vaccines are safe and effective. Before the trial data of the vaccines, as approved by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca, were rigorously examined by regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency and the United Kingdom Regulatory Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products.
In late-stage clinical trials, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were found to be 95% and 94.1% effective, respectively, in preventing severe Covid-19 infection. The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has been found to have an average efficacy of 70%.
When the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in early December, Dr. June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA in the United Kingdom, said its approval had not been cut. clock, carefully, methodically by tables and analyzes and graphs on every single given data.
The scientists and clinicians of the MHRA conducted an ‘ongoing review’ of the data as made available during clinical trials, which made it possible to expedite the evaluation of the vaccine and whether it authorized it. This is critical, according to the MHRA, given the public health emergency.
Chinese health workers and volunteers wear protective clothing as they register people to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Chaoyang District on January 15, 2021, in Beijing, China.
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Myth: Coronavirus vaccines alter DNA
Fact: The coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna contain messenger RNA (or mRNA) which gives our cells to make a protein that triggers an immune response. It builds immunity to the virus that causes Covid-19.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the mRNA (ie the instructions) of a Covid-19 vaccine never penetrates the nucleus of the cell.
“This means that the mRNA cannot affect our DNA or communicate in any way. Instead, Covid-19 mRNA vaccines work with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop immunity to disease.” In addition, immune cells break down and get rid of the mRNA shortly after using the instructions. Find out more from the CDC here.
Myth: Coronavirus vaccines affect fertility
Fact: Some women are concerned that the coronavirus vaccine could harm their fertility, and a lot of misinformation has been found online about this. Indeed, on Tuesday, the UK’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Royal College of Midwives issued a statement on Covid-19 vaccinations, fertility and pregnancy.
In this, dr. Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said: “We want to assure women that there is no evidence to suggest that Covid-19 vaccines will affect fertility. Allegations of any effect of Covid-19 vaccination on Fertility is speculative and is not supported by any data. ‘
He continued: “There is no biologically acceptable mechanism by which current vaccines can have an impact on women’s fertility. There is no evidence that women who have been vaccinated have had fertility problems.”
A woman receives the vaccination of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
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Myth: The vaccine is unsafe for me because I am pregnant
Fact: The truth is that there are limited data on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for pregnant people, the CDC says on its website.
From the data available from animal studies, “no safety concerns were shown in rats receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before or during pregnancy; studies on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine continue,” the CDC said.
Studies in people who are pregnant are planned, and both vaccine manufacturers are monitoring people in the clinical trials who have become pregnant, he added.
In the UK, where the AstraZeneca and Pfizer BioNTech vaccines are currently being deployed, the government states that: “the vaccines have not yet been tested during pregnancy, so those who are pregnant should not have this vaccine regularly until more information is available is not . “
Nevertheless, the government notes that evidence from non-clinical studies of both Pfizer-BioNTech and the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines has been reviewed by WHO and regulators around the world and that they ‘expressed no concern’ about safety during pregnancy.
The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, which advises the government on its vaccination strategy, “has recognized that the potential benefits of vaccination are particularly important for some pregnant women,” including those at high risk of contracting the infection catch or those with clinical clinics. conditions that put them at high risk for serious complications due to Covid-19. In these cases, the government recommends that women discuss possible vaccination with their doctor.
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Myth: if you had the vaccine, you do not need to wear a mask
Fact: Even if you have been vaccinated against Covid-19, it is possible that you can still transmit the virus to others. We still do not know how the vaccination against Covid-19 affects the transmission and until we do – and although many people do not remain vaccinated, people are asked to follow guidelines for social distance, wearing masks and washing hands to to prevent the virus from being transmitted. .
Myth: I do not need the vaccine because I already had Covid-19
On January 11, 2021, a registered nurse tended to care for a Covid-19 patient in the Intensive Care Unit in Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, California.
Ariana Drehsler | AFP | Getty Images
Myth: You can get Covid-19 from the vaccine
Fact: You cannot get Covid-19 from the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines because it does not contain live viruses. Meanwhile, the University of Oxford’s Vaccine Knowledge Project explains that the active ingredient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine “is made from a modified adenovirus that causes the cold in chimpanzees. This virus has been altered so that it can not cause an infection. It is used to produce the genetic code for the coronavirus ear protein. ‘