*Myths, conspiracy theories, and misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines continue to circulate online.
*From the vaccines not working to them making you magnetic, these myths have no evidence to back them.
*Medical experts urge people to check the credibility of any source claiming to share medical information.
Misinformation and falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccines have made their way into social media and beyond.
“These are the sorts of notions that are held by many people who are reluctant and hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine… [leaving many people] uncertain of the information they encounter, particularly on social media and even from conversations with their neighbor,” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told Healthline.
Healthline turned to medical experts to set the record straight on some of the most common myths currently circulating
Myth: Vaccines don’t work
Dr. Robert Amler, dean of New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice and a former CDC chief medical officer, says overwhelming evidence shows that vaccines have caused reductions in disease in the United States and worldwide.
“Through vaccination, smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. Through vaccination, polio has been eliminated from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and Oceania, with only a few pockets left in a few countries. And through mass vaccination, COVID-19 rates have declined dramatically in the second quarter of 2021,” Amler told Healthline.
More than 170 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
“We know what the safety profile is, and we know as we use more vaccines, cases are diminishing, hospitalizations are going down, and so are deaths, so that’s evidence that they really do work,” Schaffner said.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine makes you magnetic
In early June, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, based in Cleveland, claimed that COVID-19 vaccines could turn people into magnets due to 5G telecommunication towers. While addressing Ohio lawmakers, she used her claim to justify the need for a bill to stop businesses and government agencies from requiring vaccinations.
“It’s difficult to say anything about this except it’s clearly untrue. If this is the case, it’s strange that we haven’t seen all of our neighbors who are vaccinated walking around with metal on them. I’ve been vaccinated, and I can assure you I’m not magnetic,” said Schaffner.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccines are causing COVID-19 variants
In fact, the COVID-19 virus itself, not the vaccines, produces the variants.
Schaffner explains that the virus in a human being multiplies and creates new viruses that generate genetic variation. When this happens, most variations are harmless with no effect, he says.
“But on rare occasion, you can get one mutation or a series of them coincidentally occurring that will create a variant… that will continue to reproduce,” he said.
The variants can become more transmissible, such as the most recent COVID variant, delta, which originated in India.
“Data suggests it might produce more serious illness and is starting to spread in England and in the United States,” said Schaffner.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine makes you infertile
For decades, risk of infertility has been used as a way to frighten people away from legitimate treatments, says Amler.
This myth is false when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccines because the vaccines do not go near DNA in your cells, explains Schaffner.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mRNA vaccinesTrusted Source teach our cells how to make a protein — or even just a piece of a protein — that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mRNA vaccinesTrusted Source teach our cells how to make a protein — or even just a piece of a protein — that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.
“It’s like bringing a blueprint to the body to create a protection, and the vaccine itself is so labile that it falls apart immediately. We excrete it right away as soon as the message has been delivered to our cells, so it does not linger in your body,” said Schaffner.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) convened a national expert group on all aspects of reproduction and looked at the COVID-19 vaccine.
ACOG concluded that the vaccines should be offered to and is safe for people who are thinking about becoming pregnant, wanting to become pregnant, are pregnant, or who are breastfeeding.
Myth: The government put a microchip in COVID-19 vaccines to track you
Conspiracy theories about the government using vaccines to track people and rich people like Bill Gates being behind the notion are false.
“Physically, chips are not small enough that they could be inoculated with a needle. The COVID-19 vaccines are old-fashioned simple public health. Bad disease; good vaccine. Let’s get the vaccine in order to prevent the bad disease. It’s nothing more complicated than that,” said Schaffner.
For a list of ingredientsTrusted Source in the COVID vaccines, visit the CDC website.
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