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As coronavirus vaccines advance, it becomes clear that some myths about vaccines persist, leaving many people, including healthcare professionals, in many countries, including Greece, still undecided or skeptical.
The Washington Post has summarized the five most persistent myths about Covid-19 vaccines.
Myth 1: Some vaccines are better than others, so it’s better to wait and not get vaccinated now.
All vaccines aim to provide protection by creating immunity to the coronavirus protein, which enters human cells. All vaccines focus on this key protein, which causes the immune system to produce the corresponding antibodies. All approved vaccines produce high levels of protection that dramatically reduce the chance of hospitalization and possibly asymptomatic transmission. As of yet, there is no research to show that a vaccine provides longer lasting protection, and all at some point, in the fall or next year, will need to be repeated.
Myth 2: Younger people don’t need to get vaccinated, especially if they’re healthy.
An argument that so far resonates with many young people, as seen in Israel, where there has been a much less willingness of young people to get vaccinated than of the elderly. While younger people are less likely to become seriously ill or die from Covid-19, the disease remains dangerous for them as well. In addition, as a recent study showed, almost 30% of patients aged 18 to 39 who contracted the coronavirus, even if they did not become seriously ill, then suffer from “long Covid-19” symptoms such as fatigue, blurriness for months. vision, loss of taste or smell, etc. Additionally, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about a third of deaths from Covid-19 occur in patients under the age of 65. A healthy lifestyle and physical fitness can, in fact, contribute to a stronger immune system, but these alone are not enough to produce antibodies against the coronavirus, so they do not guarantee that a young person will escape hospitalization. or worse. So even the little ones will do well to get vaccinated when it’s their turn.
Myth 3: Vaccines developed quickly, so we don’t know if they’re safe
One of the most used excuses and health reasons for not getting vaccinated. Social media is full of relevant intimidating posts that sadly affect a lot of people. The truth is, scientists have been working on coronavirus vaccines for at least a decade, which is why they had already identified the spike protein as the main target of the vaccine. This ten-year R&D period is similar to other vaccines. Had it not been for this effort, pharmaceutical companies and university researchers would not have reacted as quickly in the midst of a pandemic. But the clinical trials of the new coronavirus vaccines were large and carefully controlled, roughly the same size in number of participants as those of other vaccines.
Myth 4: vaccines contain unsafe and immoral ingredients
Perhaps the most unfounded and conspiracy theories, which refer to “chips” in vaccines, abortion cells, etc. In fact, no coronavirus vaccine uses abortifacient material from abortions. Once upon a time, in the 1970s and 1980s, cell cultures from two aborted embryos were used to make vaccines, but it has been a long time since then and there has been no such residue in vaccines, much longer than Covid-19. . And, of course, there is no reason for chips (that won’t even fit through the syringe …). Some “chips” can simply be used during vaccine transportation to record doses and ensure that the vaccines are not expired or fake, but are on the outside of the package or syringe and are certainly not inserted into the body of the vaccine. no one.
Myth 5: mRNA vaccines change DNA
Persistent but non-existent claim by vaccine deniers that newer types of mRNA technology vaccines (such as Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna) modify the genetic material of the vaccine and may cause infertility or autoimmune disorders. Facebook has downloaded many of these posts in recent months. This myth is more or less a copy of similar, equally false, claims about the HPV vaccine. There is absolutely no scientific basis for these claims, as the mRNA from the vaccine, which is introduced into the body in a lipid nanoparticle, does not enter the human genome at all. It remains in the cellular space outside the nucleus (where the DNA is found), specifically in the ribosomes, and from there it directs the production of peptides that resemble the peak protein, so that the body then reacts by producing antibodies. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that mRNA vaccines are equivalent to gene therapy, as some scientific critics of vaccines claim.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
