UK health officials in Trinidad have rejected rapper Nicki Minaj’s “false claim” that her cousin’s friend’s testicles are swollen after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine in his home country, Trinidad.
Dr Terrence Deyalsingh, Minister of Health of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, said Minaj’s tweet sent on Monday afternoon to more than 22 million followers who sent the ministry a wild goose chase trying to locate the poor man who said he became powerless and lost his fiancé. on side effects.
“Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday with this false statement,” Deyalsingh said. “From what we know at the moment, there have been no side effects or any adverse events. And what was sad about that is that yesterday we wasted time trying to locate it because we take all these claims seriously, either on social media or conventional media “.
Deyalsingh said not a single case of testicular swelling has been reported after vaccines against the Covid vaccine in Trinidad and health officials were unaware of any cases “anywhere else in the world.”
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean islands, has completely vaccinated about 35% of its population and records an average of about 200 new cases of Covid a day, according to Reuters. Various types of vaccines are used in the country, including those manufactured by Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Pfizer of China. It is unclear what vaccine Minaj’s cousin’s friend received.
The rapper’s comments made waves around the world and provoked reactions on Twitter, from media figures, disgruntled fans and government health officials.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a White House medical adviser, gave CNN a “resounding no” when asked if any of the U.S.-approved vaccines affect male or female fertility. “There is no evidence to happen, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine what would happen, so the answer to your question is no,” Fauci said.
Health officials in the UK have criticized Minaj for contributing to a growing hesitation that has hampered global efforts to immunize enough people to get the herd’s immunity against the virus.
“There are a number of myths flying around that are clearly ridiculous,” said UK chief medical adviser Chris Whitty. “Some of which are clearly designed just to scare, it’s one of them. That’s false.”
Minaj also retweeted a statement from a man who says his father had a blood clot in his left eye after receiving a Covid vaccine, went blind and ended up in hospital with the same virus. week. Although some of the vaccines have been linked to a rare condition of blood clotting, none of the reported blood clots have occurred in the eyes or caused blindness. Minaj also claimed that a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from Covid than unvaccinated people “was not true.”
Whitty said repeating the claim will only give her more credibility, “they don’t need it, they’re fake, full stop.”
He also said some people know they “sell fakes” about the vaccine and continue to do so as well. “They should be ashamed and I’ll leave it,” Whitty said.
Minaj responded to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after saying he did not know much about it. Minaj posted on Twitter a sarcastic voice note with a false British accent, which he said was a “big star” in the United States and joked that he attended Oxford University with Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister who died in 2013.
He also retaliated against several TV drivers who criticized his tweets. He told former “The View” host Meghan McCain to “eat s —” after McCain retweeted Minaj’s comments about testicular inflammation, saying “That’s enough internet for today.” Minaj also called popular British host Piers Morgan a “stupid piece of s” and said she should wear a “clown nose and big red shoes” after telling her she was “one of the roughest ladies.” “which he has never met – an insult that Minaj embraced by adding it to his Twitter biography. Minaj and Morgan appeared together in “America’s Got Talent” in 2011, where Morgan claimed he ignored his children, which Minaj denied.
They were not the only media figures to face Minaj’s wrath; used racial insult in accusing MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid of lying and homophobic after Reid criticized her tweets. Minaj accused Reid and the rest of the “media” of twisting their words to serve white media executives.
“They get paid to do it,” he tweeted.
Despite the criticism, Minaj said he will probably get vaccinated because he has to go on tour. Some of Minaj’s supporters defended the singer, saying the open discussion about vaccine skepticism is a healthy way to eliminate misinformation in a public space.
Minaj has retweeted another follower who said he received the vaccine and has not been infected with Covid. “That’s the norm,” Minaj replied.