Hello to all of you budding #STEMinists out there. How are you all? The Cellfie Team are loving being back at school but it is obviously very tiring balancing all of our commitments, while trying to adjust to the change in pace of lifestyle! Over the past 2 months, we have thoroughly enjoyed reading through applications for monthly writers and we are thrilled that we now have a team of dedicated STEM enthusiasts who are raring to go! Excitingly, Cellfie is hoping to rejuvenate our podcast in the next couple of months so make sure to follow us on Spotify (Cellfie Magazine) to be the first to know when our regular episodes start coming out. If you are interested in applying to be a monthly podcast creator, please email cellfiemagazine@gmail.com. Today's blog post is written by one of our very talented writers, Gabriella, who is doing the vital work of myth debunking at a time of so much misinformation.
Spoiler alert: they aren't. Over recent years, the spread of misinformation through social media and the rise of anti-vaxxer organisations has led to the public being overall more dubious about receiving vaccinations. However, with the current pandemic, it's crucial that as many people are vaccinated as possible for the purpose of herd immunity, among other things. It is, of course, natural for people to be cautious about what is being put into their bodies, especially with events such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment causing a greater mistrust of physicians. That's why in this article I will be quashing five commonly circulated myths about the covid-19 vaccine, in order to ease any concerns you may have about eventually taking it, or having family members take it.
Myth One: Taking the vaccine if you are immunocompromised or have pre-existing conditions is unsafe
Considering pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, actually increase one's risks of developing more severe symptoms, this myth is particularly harmful as it's especially important this group receive the vaccine. There's no existing evidence suggesting that people who fall in these groups are more likely to have adverse reactions to the vaccine. The one exception is, of course, if you are allergic to an ingredient of a vaccine. And as for those who are immunocompromised, the vaccine is not actually infecting the vaccinee since the pathogen it contains is not live, so there's no reason for concern. There were even immunocompromised individuals involved in the trials of the vaccine.
Myth Two: If you have already contracted Covid-19, receiving a vaccine is unnecessary
This is a widely believed but, unfortunately, flawed argument. For one, there's the possibility that people who think they have previously had the virus actually just received a false positive test. In addition, since it is possible to have the virus multiple times, it is still imperative that the vaccine is received in order to ensure future immunity.
Myth Three: The vaccine will cause infertility
There is currently no evidence to support this claim, nor to support the idea that future pregnancies will be affected by the vaccine. One of the reasons this became a belief is a protein that is coded for by the mRNA-based vaccines is linked to another protein, syncytin-1, which is what keeps the placenta attached to the uterus. However, the link by no way means the immune system will confuse them, hence the vaccine will not cause any reproductive issues.
Myth Four: The vaccine contains a microchip
This belief, although it comes across as laughable to most, is still circulated a concerning amount. For starters, there's absolutely no evidence to support this idea. Furthermore, why would the government have any need to do this? Like most people I know, my phone contains every detail of my life: my location, my daily habits and routine, the contacts of my friends and family, my banking information, medical information, I really could go on. This essentially renders any microchip redundant, since there's not much information they could garner from this that they couldn't already uncover from our digital footprints.
Myth Five: The speed at which the vaccines were developed renders them unsafe
Saving what is likely the most believable concern for last, the idea is that a vaccine created in a matter of months, as opposed to many years, can not possibly be as safe. However, it's important to remember how the vaccine was created in this record time: the unprecedented collaboration between many scientists globally, the generous funding from sponsors, and the wealth of volunteers for trials. Since these are factors which usually delay vaccine development, they meant the vaccine didn't require as much time to be deemed safe and effective.
Overall, I hope reading this has put you at ease and that you now feel more well-informed about taking the vaccine. It's extremely important to remember while reading things online or on social media that lots of the information is not fact-checked, and it shouldn't discourage you from receiving medical care such as vaccinations.