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SINGAPORE – While Covid-19 has infected around 65 million people around the world, misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories about the virus have likely spread into the billions. Benjamin Seet and Ren Ee Chee set the record straight about vaccines.
Q Can Covid-19 vaccines cause long-term complications?
A It is too early to tell. Some complications are so rare that they are only seen once in a million or two million vaccines, sometimes up to a year or two later.
To date, only about 200,000 people have participated in late-stage clinical trials for different Covid-19 vaccines worldwide, and the longest follow-up does not exceed four months. Therefore, it is still too early to draw firm conclusions.
What we do know is that the major vaccine companies have been very transparent with their data and have taken the unprecedented step of publishing their clinical trial protocols and interim results.
These are sent to health regulators who evaluate the data with strict guidelines that also apply to other vaccines.
There are no shortcuts when it comes to establishing the safety of a vaccine. We should expect no less with Covid-19 vaccines, despite their compressed development timelines.
Q Can an RNA vaccine change my DNA?
A There are those who claim that ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccines can manipulate and change human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), resulting in a genetically modified human.
Biologically, it just doesn’t work that way. DNA uses one set of molecules for its genetic code, while RNA is made up of a different set of molecules.
The flow of genetic information is unidirectional: DNA contains information that cells use to make messenger RNA (mRNA), which in turn provides a template for assembling the proteins that the body needs. The mRNA in Covid-19 vaccines cannot change human DNA.
Furthermore, the half-life of mRNA vaccines is very short. Once injected, it is quickly absorbed by the body’s cells and breaks down after 48 hours. The influenza virus is an RNA virus. When you get the flu, you are in fact receiving a massive dose of RNA from the virus. It can make you sick, but it doesn’t change your DNA.
Q Does the Covid-19 vaccine inject live viruses into your body?
A There are different types of Covid-19 vaccines.
A common vaccine is made up of killed viruses that have been chemically inactivated and are no longer infectious. These include the vaccines produced by Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Valneva.
Another type of vaccine uses a common virus, called an adenovirus, to carry a small fragment of the Sars-CoV-2 gene into cells.
These viral vectors are weakened, thus posing a minimal risk of causing disease compared to a natural infection. Examples of adenovirus-employing vaccines include those produced by AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and CanSino, and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
Other leading programs from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, and Sanofi use biotechnology to make RNA or protein subunit vaccines and do not use viruses, live or dead.
Q Is it better to get immunity against a natural infection than through vaccination?
A Both scenarios can produce high-quality immune protection. However, with natural infection, there is a risk of developing serious and life-threatening illnesses, especially in the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes.
A small number of people can also develop “prolonged Covid” where they experience chronic symptoms including shortness of breath, headaches, and even damage to the heart, lungs, and kidneys. This condition is not fully understood and there is no standard treatment.
Entire populations are also unlikely to achieve herd immunity through natural infection.
Even in the hardest hit communities, studies have shown that less than 10 percent of people show immunity to Covid-19, meaning the rest remain vulnerable.
Q If I get vaccinated, does it mean that I no longer need to wear a mask?
A It is important to keep wearing a mask to protect the people around you. Being vaccinated greatly reduces the risk of developing the symptomatic disease Covid-19, as well as the possibility of contracting a serious illness. However, it may not prevent you from getting infected without showing symptoms or passing the virus to your family and friends.
Q Are vaccine companies implanting microchips in our bodies to control us?
A There are those who believe that pharmaceutical and information technology companies are allied to incorporate microchips into vaccines, in an attempt to track who has been vaccinated.
In more sensational versions of this hoax, there are claims that 5G networks and artificial intelligence will send signals to these microchips to control human behavior.
While we cannot establish the origin of this falsehood, it predates Covid-19 by nearly a decade. Pranksters tend to look up old stories and adapt them to the current situation so that the lies appear more convincing.
What we do know is that certain vaccines contain metal salts, typically aluminum phosphate or aluminum hydroxide, to enhance the immune response. These adjuvants, added to vaccines to enhance the immune response, have been used safely in vaccines for more than 60 years.
5G cannot track or control vaccine adjuvants.
In fact, mobile phones are better tracking devices that already monitor human behavior.
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