Feel like you’re drowning out information about coronavirus vaccines? We can’t blame you.
Keeping track of the latest science can seem like a full time job. This is because researchers are still learning more about COVID-19 vaccines, such as how long the immune responses they cause last and how well the different vaccines against viral variants work.
But not everything is still an open question. There are many things that scientists know are true about vaccines, and others that simply aren’t.
Here’s a breakdown to help you separate the facts of the vaccine from fiction.
Mite: Because COVID-19 vaccines have not been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, they are experimental and untested.
Fet: Scientists not only beat these vaccines in the lab and expect the best. The researchers tested them in a series of clinical trials to make sure they were safe and effective, as they would with any medication. The FDA emergency authorized the vaccines based on study data from tens of thousands of volunteers from different backgrounds, and about 200 million people in the United States have been shot. Public health officials continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, even following rare diseases that may have nothing to do with shots. And while it’s true that the vaccines haven’t been fully approved, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is confident it will arrive by the end of August.
Mite: Moderna and Pfizer vaccines alter your DNA.
Fet: This is not even possible, says Dr. Mark Sawyer of Rady Children’s Hospital, an infectious disease expert who was part of the advisory panels that recommended the FDA authorize both vaccines. Both vaccines use a molecule called messenger RNA that carries a fragment of the coronavirus’s genetic code, which triggers an immune response against the ear protein, the molecule that allows the virus to attach to cells and slip inside them. But the vaccine doesn’t sink suddenly and inexplicably into the genome, it doesn’t even come in contact with your DNA.
“There’s no biological reason for this to happen,” Sawyer said. “And again, if that would cause a problem, even if it happened, we would know.”
Mite: The side effects of the vaccine are worse than COVID-19.
Fet: Most of the side effects of the vaccine are mild: think you have a sore arm or chills. But there have been rare cases in which people have had severe blood clots; paralysis and muscle weakness; or myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle.
By context, some of these more serious side effects occur in less than 1 in 100,000 people. Sawyer points to an August 10 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows that the number of cases of side effects has been reduced by the thousands of infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 that probably prevented shots.
“You are a thousand times more likely to get to the hospital because of COVID than to get to the hospital with a vaccine side effect.”
Mite: You better get infected and have a “natural” immune response.
Fet: Although people who have had COVID-19 may have strong immune responses, the level of protection they get varies greatly from person to person, according to Dennis Burton, an immunologist and vaccine expert at Scripps Research. Part of the reason is that people who had mild or asymptomatic infections are less likely to form a strong immune response. In comparison, vaccines have been designed and tested to cause immunity to a wide range of people. And natural infection carries the risk of hospitalization and death, in addition to persistent side effects that researchers still don’t fully understand.
“If you analyze a large population, you’re definitely going to get better protection with the vaccine that you just let everyone get infected,” Burton said.
Mite: Vaccines will make you sterile or affect your fetus if you are pregnant.
Fet: Rates of miscarriage among vaccinated women are no different from those of the general population, according to a CDC statement released on August 11th. In addition, vaccinated mothers can transmit immunity to babies by breastfeeding, which transfers antibodies against the virus through milk. In contrast, pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely to end up in the intensive care unit or on a ventilator than women in the same age group who are not pregnant.
“There was no higher risk of stillbirth, there was no higher risk of miscarriage. There was no difference in fertility rates, “said Dr. Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, director of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSD Health.” When you put all these aspects together, including the greater risk they have. pregnant women when they become infected with COVID, it is very clear that vaccination is the safest. “
Myth: If you have had COVID, it makes no sense to get vaccinated.
Fact: There are laboratory-based and real-world tests that show that previously infected people who were vaccinated exceed their immune response. A study by researchers at Rush University in Chicago shows that people who received a single dose of Pfizer vaccine after a previous case of COVID produced more potent antibody responses than people who had never been infected. and received both shots from Pfizer. And a CDC report released in early August shows that Kentucky residents who previously had COVID-19 and were not vaccinated had more than twice the chances of reinfection compared to those who had received the shots.
“You’ll probably end up with one of the strongest immunities,” Burton said.
Myth: It is best to wait for a future vaccine that works better than the one currently available.
Fact: It is true that vaccine manufacturers are refining their designs to work better against viral variants. But there is much evidence that current versions are safe and highly effective in preventing hospitalization or death from COVID-19. This makes waiting for a future vaccine during a wave a risky strategy.
“If tomorrow I could magically make a new version of the vaccine, yes, I would wait until tomorrow or next week. But who knows how long it will take for those to come out, ”Sawyer said.
“In the meantime, we get COVID to go wild.”