TAMPA — As community COVID-19 vaccinations expand, some people still have questions about the vaccine.
Experts say there's been a lot of misconceptions and misinformation about the vaccine.
Here are some of the most common COVID-19 vaccine myths:
- Myth: The vaccine was made too quickly so it’s not safe.
- Response: “They didn’t take any shortcuts going through their clinical trials. So, all the clinical trials were done according to normal clinical trial protocols. So, this vaccine is just as safe as any vaccine that we have out there. The other part of it that is really important to understand is making vaccines is a costly process. The reason that these were able to be made so quickly is that there was a huge investment from the federal government,” said Dr. Teng, Associate Medical Professor of Medicine at USF.
- Myth: The vaccine can make you infertile.
- Response: “You’re getting injected in your arm, an intramuscular injection so I’m not sure how it would affect your reproductive organs which are not close,” said Teng.
- Myth: The vaccine will alter your DNA.
- Response: “The vaccine is made out of RNA, which is not DNA and actually this RNA can’t even get into the nucleus where your DNA is. RNA is very unstable as well. So there’s really no way for this RNA vaccine to do anything in your genes,” said Teng.
- Myth: The vaccine was created to control the population with a microchip.
- Response: “Considering the logistics of the Pfizer vaccine that has to be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, I don’t see how you would want to put a microchip in super cold temperatures and have it function properly. If you actually go and see how the vaccine is given to people, they have a little vial, it has a white powder in it and they have to put water into it or saline solution into it in order to reconstitute it. If there’s a microchip in there, it’s going to be dosed in water which is probably not good for its circuitry,” said Teng.