Myth: The vaccines do not work against the new COVID-19 variants.

Truth: The medical profession agrees that while immunizations cannot neutralize variations, they WILL protect against serious illness with all variants. This is because most of the components of the virus are not changed in the variants.

Myth: The COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe because drug companies created them quickly.

Truth: Drug companies spent lots of time and money making the COVID-19 vaccines, which is how they were finished so quickly. These vaccines could be made quickly and still be safe for several reasons:

• Scientists had researched other coronaviruses including SARS and MERS, as well as mRNA and viral vector vaccines. These are the COVID-19 vaccinations used in the US.

• The government poured money and resources towards vaccine research. This facilitated scientific collaboration.

• COVID-19 vaccination studies exploited existing networks. People were ready to start the testing.

• The FDA and the CDC prioritized the assessment and approval of COVID-19 vaccinations (CDC).

• mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are made faster than other vaccinations.

• Some steps of vaccine development and production were done concurrently rather than sequentially. For example, production began while clinical studies were ongoing. What matters is that every step required to create a new vaccination and ensure its safety was taken. Nothing was missed.

Myth: The vaccines contain a microchip created by Bill Gates

Truth: The vaccines DO NOT contain any microchips. Bill Gates had no part in creating the COVID-19 vaccines.

Myth: The vaccines have the virus that causes COVID-19 and can make you sick.

Truth: The COVID-19 vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19 because none of the FDA authorized vaccines in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19.

Myth: A significant number of people have contracted and transmitted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated.

Truth: Only 5,800 out of 66 million fully vaccinated Americans have contracted COVID-19 after receiving the vaccine. This equates to less than 0.01%.

Myth: I will test positive for COVID-19 on a viral test after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Truth: The FDA authorized COVID-19 vaccines will not cause you to test positive on a viral test.

Myth: Vitamin and mineral supplements can cure COVID-19.

Truth: Vitamins D and C and the mineral zinc can indeed boost your immune system and protect against viruses. This is mainly true for people who lack these supplements. But there’s no evidence that they’re a cure or treatment for COVID-19 if you already have the disease.

Myth: COVID-19 can be sent via packages.

Truth: Coronaviruses is spread most often by respiratory droplets. Although the virus can survive for a short period on some surfaces, it is unlikely to be spread from domestic or international mail, products or packaging.

Myth: Rinsing my nose with saline can stop COVID-19.

Truth: There’s no proof that rinsing your nose with saline protects you from getting COVID-19. This myth may stem from the advice to use saline in your nose to treat a common cold, but it doesn’t actually stop infections.

Myth: The vaccination is being targeted at Black and Latinx populations despite no proof that it is safe.

Truth: Black and Latinx populations are not targeted. Infection, hospitalization, and mortality from COVID-19 are greater in these communities.

This worry is valid. Historically, individuals of color have been misled or compelled to test medications or medical procedures, putting their health at risk.

The three vaccinations available in the US were tested on a variety of people. We tried to incorporate as many Black and Latinx volunteers as possible. This was done to ensure vaccination safety and efficacy in certain groups. It was also done to protect them from medical negligence or prejudice.

Myth: We don’t know enough about the long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Truth: Vaccine science tells us that the COVID-19 vaccinations are unlikely to have long-term negative effects.

Vaccine side effects normally appear six weeks after vaccination. For this reason, the FDA recommended that each COVID-19 vaccination be tested in clinical trials for at least eight weeks. The CDC also closely monitors the use of COVID-19 vaccinations when they are authorized or licensed. A year has passed since COVID-19 vaccinations were approved (and almost a year since vaccine trials began). This means that it has been 2+ years since the vaccines were introduced and there have been no reported long-term negative effects with the COVID 19 vaccination.

Myth: I won’t be able to get or stay pregnant if I take a COVID-19 vaccine.

Truth: This myth has been going around on social media. It claims that antibodies made from the COVID-19 vaccines will bind to proteins in the placenta (the organ that gives an unborn baby food and oxygen) and stop pregnancy. Scientific studies don’t support this idea, and no evidence links COVID-19 to infertility.

Myth: I do not need to get the vaccine if I’ve already had COVID-19.

Truth: You should get vaccinated, even if you've already had COVID-19. This is because the vaccine is better and lasts longer at protecting people.

After you get COVID-19, you get natural immunity. This is the protection that you get after that. Getting vaccinated will help your body fight off COVID-19 better and for a longer time. People who were not vaccinated were more than twice as likely to get sick again than people who were vaccinated.

Myth: When someone gets a COVID-19 vaccine it causes them to shed the COVID-19 virus and infect people who are nearby.

Truth: The COVID-19 virus is not present in any of the three US-approved vaccinations. Vaccination does not induce viral shed. The COVID-19 vaccinations cannot infect or make someone contagious with the COVID-19 virus.

Myth: The needle stays in your arm after you get a vaccine.

Truth: A vaccination needle does not stay in your arm. After the injection, the needle retracts into the syringe or safety chamber. You may have seen a video where a needle appears to remain in a person's arm after an immunization.

This is a retractable needle at work. A retractable needle syringe works by retracting the needle into the barrel or a safety chamber on the side once the vaccination is administered. Nurses and doctors use these syringes to avoid needles.

Myth: The “magnet test” is proof that a microchip or needle is left in your arm after you get a vaccine.

Truth: It is just a trick that is meant to fool you. There are videos on social media showing magnets sticking to people’s arms where they got a vaccine. This is to try to prove that the vaccines contain microchips or that a needle is left behind. This is just a trick.

Magnets can easily be made to stick to the skin with tape or ointment. Even pressing a magnet or coin firmly to your skin can make it stick. Plus, the amount of metal needed to attract a magnet is too large to fit in the needle used to give a COVID-19 vaccine.

Myth: Aborted fetal cells are found in COVID-19 vaccines. I don't think abortion is right. Getting vaccinated is not the right thing to do because the vaccines have cells from aborted fetuses in them.

The Truth: No vaccine approved in the US contains fetal cells or tissue.

COVID-19 vaccines were developed, tested, or produced using fetal cell lines created in labs from two abortions performed in 1973 and 1985. No fetal cells used were from recent abortions or abortions performed solely for vaccine development.

They did not employ fetal cell lines to design or manufacture their COVID-19 vaccines. They used fetal cell lines in laboratory research before experimenting on humans.

• J&J employed fetal cells to produce and test its COVID-19 vaccine. They utilize it to make vaccines.

• A assessment of the use of fetal cells in COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing by the Catholic Church stated that it is ethically permissible to acquire COVID-19 vaccinations that employed aborted fetus cell lines in their research and manufacture procedure.

If this concerns you, please read COVID-19 Vaccine and Fetal Cell Lines carefully before deciding to get vaccinated.