1) COVID-19 VACCINE AFFECTS FERTILITY?
“I should start by saying that there is absolutely no scientific evidence or truth behind this concern that vaccines somehow interfere with fertility, either in men or in women, because what vaccines do is stimulate an immune response against that particular protein or antigen of that virus or bacteria. So in this case, the COVID vaccine stimulates both antibody response and a cell-mediated immune response against the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. So, there is no way in which they could interfere with the functioning of the reproductive organs in either men or women. So, I think people can rest assured that these vaccines in no way interfere with fertility.”
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
Chief Scientist
World Health Organization (WHO)
2) THE COVID-19 VACCINES ALTER YOUR DNA?
“We have two vaccines now that are referred to as mRNA vaccines, and there’s no way that mRNA can turn into DNA. And there’s no way that mRNA can change the DNA of our human cells. What mRNA is, it’s the instructions to the body to make a protein. Most vaccines are developed by actually giving a protein or giving a small, tiny component of the germ that we’re trying to vaccinate against. And this is a new approach where instead of giving that tiny little part, instead, we just give the instructions to our own bodies to make that tiny little part and then our natural immune system responds to it.”
Kate O’Brien
Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals
World Health Organization (WHO)
3) PREGNANT AND LACTATING MOTHERS SHOULD NOT GET VACCINATED?
“We are concerned about the health of the mother, but also about the health of the foetus, the unborn child. And so any drug or vaccine that is administered during pregnancy, we always take special care to make sure that, you know, there is no potential safety concern or any adverse event. In the case of COVID, we know that pregnant women are at a higher risk of getting severe COVID and also at a higher risk of delivering a baby prematurely. So, in situations where there is a lot of COVID transmission in the country and a woman is exposed to it, or if she’s in a profession like a healthcare worker or a frontline worker where she’s at especially high risk of acquiring the infection, the benefits of getting the vaccine definitely outweigh the risks, particularly since the platforms that we used currently for vaccines are the mRNA platform, inactivated viruses or the viral vectored platforms or subunit proteins. None of them has a live virus that can multiply within the body and that could potentially create a problem.”
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
Chief Scientist
World Health Organization (WHO)
“So, women who have given birth and who are breastfeeding their babies can take the vaccine, should take the vaccine when it becomes available to them. There is no risk at all because of all the vaccines that are being used presently, none of them has the live virus in them. And so there’s no risk of transmission through breast milk. In fact, the antibodies that the mother has can go through the breast milk to the baby and may only serve to protect the baby a little bit. But there’s absolutely no harm. It’s very safe. And so women who are breastfeeding can definitely take the vaccines that are currently available.”
4) COVID-19 VACCINES MAKES YOU MAGNETIC?
Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will not make you magnetic, including at the site of vaccination which is usually your arm. COVID-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of your injection. All COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals.
Constituents of the vaccine-Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html
5) THE VACCINES AREN’T SAFE SINCE THEY WERE NOT TESTED?
“WHO places a lot of importance on the safety of vaccines, and in fact, we have a group called the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety. These are experts from all over the world who meet regularly and who advise WHO periodically, monitoring the safety signals from vaccines that are being used around the world and advising WHO if they want to make any specific recommendations. So, as you know, these vaccines are first put through clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy.”
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
Chief Scientist
World Health Organization (WHO)
“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
6) COVID-19 CASES INCREASE AS VACCINES START ROLLING OUT?
Vaccines work, but they only work with other preventive measures (wearing masks, social distancing, using sanitisers etc..) Vaccines will not decrease the spread of disease until most people are vaccinated.
COVID vaccines have been shown to be very powerful in preventing more severe disease and the need for hospitalization. Breakthroughs occur at a much, much lower rate than in people who are unvaccinated. Breakthroughs have been occurring more frequently with the Delta variant because of the high level of infectiousness (or transmissibility) of the Delta variant and lower protection of current vaccines against this variant. But people having breakthroughs have much more mild infections, more like an upper respiratory infection. The vaccines prevent severe disease and complications and allow people to return to a more normal state.
7) SHOULD PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY INFECTED WITH COVID-19 GET VACCINATED?
A person infected with COVID-19 currently doesn’t require the vaccine immediately. Persons with acute PCR confirmed COVID-19 until they have recovered and the criteria for discontinuation of isolation is met.
8) CAN THE VACCINES LEAD TO LONG TERM EFFECTS?
WHO has a pharmacovigilance system that we work both with regulators and manufacturers, but also with countries that have set up safety monitoring systems so that we are constantly reviewing the adverse events that are being reported into the system, doing the analysis, making correlations on whether this is just a chance event or whether it’s actually related to the vaccine and then putting out the alerts or guidance based on that. So far we know that you know, over 150 million doses of vaccines have been administered around the world. And so far, the safety signals have been reassuring. There hasn’t been anything untoward that’s happened with any of the vaccines that have been really rolled out at a large scale.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
Chief Scientist
World Health Organization (WHO)
9) CAN I DROP ALL PRECAUTIONS AFTER VACCINATING?
The CDC continues to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and makes recommendations for wearing face masks, both for those who are fully vaccinated as well as those who are not fully vaccinated. The CDC also recommends that masks and physical distancing are required when going to the doctor’s office, hospitals or long-term care facilities.
10) I ALREADY HAD COVID, THEREFORE I DON’T NEED THE VACCINE, AM I IMMUNE?
“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
