Covid Vaccine: Eliminating the Doubts & Myths
Photo by Hakan Nural on Unsplash
Covid-19 is a pandemic that shook the world and has caused great tragedy and uncertainty for millions of people. Scientists all over the globe toiled to develop a vaccine to rid us of the deadly, easily transmissible virus, and within less than a year, many were approved and ready to be distributed to a world that had lost so much in such little time.
One would assume that after the casualties faced by millions and the crumpling of economies, all those eligible would be jumping to go and get their vaccine. However, as many of us have seen, there are many people who instead not only feel hesitant about the vaccine but have even developed conspiracy theories about its purpose and effects.
Many of us have been quick to judge the opinions and decisions of these people we’ve labelled as ‘anti-vaxxers’. Whether the label came from the human tendency to categorize or divide people based on their personal views, it has created tension between friends, family members and simply people. I have witnessed this tension first-hand. Understanding the views and opinions of those you disagree with can help ease this tension.
Why Are Some People Hesitant?
The topic of vaccine hesitancy is not a new one to society. For decades, parents have speculated about the long-term effects, components and necessity of vaccines for their infants. And in return, the medical community has worked to do exactly what it is doing now – providing accurate information and reassurance to ease people’s concerns. However, uncertainty about vaccines as a whole creates a significant barrier between individuals and the COVID-19 vaccines that won’t be fixed by discrediting a few myths. This barrier extends to understanding the workings of immunizations as a whole. This uncertainty must first be addressed and overcome before even considering taking a vaccine that has only recently been developed. Understandably, people could doubt our recent vaccines when they haven’t overcome their doubtfulness surrounding all vaccines. Fortunately, there are decades worth of research supporting the effectiveness and safety of vaccines in the use of eradicating diseases.
A source of vaccine hesitancy that I’ve come across is the fear of a new drug. When you think about all the medications we take today, we have tremendous confidence in them because they’ve been thoroughly tested and have been around for years. So it’s understandable that one would worry about the long-term effects and reliability of a new drug to fight off a new virus that, compared to other viruses, we don’t know that much about. But since we’re not all scientists ourselves, I think our best chance is to trust those that know much more about the subject than we do. We can do our due diligence and do a bit of research –from suitable sources, of course – but at the end of the day, these people know much more about medicine and the virus than we do.
Another source of vaccine hesitancy comes from the myths and misinformation surrounding the vaccine itself that have managed to travel quickly through the internet. One of these myths is that the Covid-19 vaccine, particularly the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, will alter the DNA of the recipient. As the CDC – and many other sources – explain, this is not true. What is happening is that the vaccines give instructions that our cells use to make a protein that our bodies can then use to quickly recognize and respond to the virus that causes COVID-19 if it enters our body. The mRNA information does not make its way to our DNA, and therefore does not alter it in any way.
Another concern I’ve heard from family members is surrounding the effects of the vaccine, and the possibility that these vaccines give you the deadly disease itself. I found it very difficult to explain that the side effects are how our bodies show that the vaccine is working. Their first thought, and not to say that I blame them, was that a drug meant to protect you against a virus shouldn’t give you some of its symptoms. These vaccines, just like every other we get, teach our immune systems to recognize the virus to be able to fight it off quickly. So the symptoms that some of us have experienced, such as a fever, headache, or soreness, are the result of our bodies building an immune response to the virus – and is a useful way for us to know that it’s working. In the unfortunate event that you do transmit the virus in the future, your body will recognize it and fight it off much faster, meaning that it can’t cause as much damage. Although these are the first mRNA vaccines to be administered, research into this technology has been developing for decades.
There has even been speculation of the vaccine’s effect on fertility. This confusion arose after it was falsely stated that spike proteins involved in the development and attachment of the placenta during pregnancy are the same as the spike proteins on the virus. The myth is that the vaccines cause the female body to fight the spike protein involved in pregnancy, affecting fertility. However, as an article by John Hopkins Medicine reports, these are very different from the spike proteins that the vaccines instruct our bodies to make to recognize the virus.
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Finally, some have even argued that the vaccine itself is ineffective since there have been confirmed cases among vaccinated people. However, no vaccine is 100% effective in preventing an infection. Most of the vaccines that have been around for decades and that we take as children aren’t even 100% effective, and neither is this one, but it comes pretty close. The thing is, we need as much of the population to get vaccinated to eradicate the virus so that it doesn’t keep transmitting unchecked amongst the unvaccinated and develop new strains. As we have seen from many past examples, such as the measles or smallpox virus, vaccines can functionally eliminate diseases.
Long-Term
I would say that one’s concern for the long-term effects of the vaccine is understandable. The truth is, we aren’t 100% certain about the vaccine, but neither are we about COVID-19. We have seen the virus’s harm to the human body and that it can have long-lasting consequences (termed long COVID). However, the vaccine is our best source of protection, and although we are unsure of every effect it will have, they must certainly be better than the effects of contracting the virus.
If you are having feelings of doubt, then do the research yourself. Be careful to get your information from trusted sources like the CDC, which is a government public health agency in the United States. They provide a great amount of reassurance by addressing common myths. Public health agencies and scholarly articles are certainly trusted sources to get your information from. Knowledge is power, and there are so many ways to inform ourselves these days that should be taken advantage of.
With new variants being discovered, scientists from all areas of the world are working their hardest to protect us. We can’t blame them for not having a vaccine ready for every variant that pops up when our vaccines are so new themselves. This is why so many places have introduced a vaccine mandate. Doubt is entirely normal, but unwillingness to seek reassurance is dangerous. Believing every myth and voice of doubt that you hear from others on the internet is dangerous. Not just dangerous to you but to all of us. Our best chance of ultimately beating the virus is getting as many people vaccinated as possible. And I know this is a phrase we have heard repeated numerous times, but that’s because it’s true.