The rollout of the largest vaccination programme in British history is well underway, with more than 9 million people having already received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at time of writing. A vaccine has long been hailed as our way out of lockdowns and back to normal life. However, we have also seen vaccine myths circulating on social media (some are valid concerns, others are more on the conspiracy theory side). Here are some of the most common ones:
Myth #1: The vaccine was rushed out too quickly and isn’t safe
It is true that Covid-19 vaccines have been produced at a record pace, as the process of creating and approving a vaccine often lasts more than 10 years. This is causing some people to question whether corners were cut in the approval process to roll the vaccine out much quicker. However, this is not the case.
One barrier which holds back many vaccine developments is a lack of funding. Due to the pressing global health emergency, governments all over the world made huge investments to remove this barrier and speed up the production process.
Scientists also had a significant head start in the vaccine development. SARS-CoV-2 is a member of the coronavirus family which has been studied extensively in the past. Researchers were, therefore, able to use data from the SARS epidemic in 2002 and the MERS outbreak of 2012 as groundwork for the Covid-19 vaccines.
The three major vaccines which have so far been approved in the UK (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca) have undergone all stages of the usual testing phases. This includes small- and large-scale clinical trials to ensure that the vaccine is safe to use for the general public.
Myth #2: The vaccine changes your DNA and makes you ill
The vaccines work by instructing your body’s cells to make a harmless spike protein which is also found on the surface of the virus that causes Covid-19. When your body recognises this spike protein, it builds an immune response and produces antibodies to protect itself from a real infection in the future.
The BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines encapsulate the genetic material, called mRNA, in oily droplets which is why they require deep freezing. The AstraZeneca vaccine delivers the genetic material in a “viral vector”, a harmless common cold virus which has been modified to look like the coronavirus, meaning it can be kept in the fridge.
None of the approved vaccines contain live versions of the virus which causes Covid-19 or alter your body’s DNA in any way. The NHS website also states that there are currently no reports of any long-term side effects and that serious side effects like allergic reactions are very rare. A full list of vaccine ingredients is published on the website of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Myth #3: It will be mandatory to get a vaccine
The NHS is currently contacting people aged 70+ and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable to invite them for vaccination. While it is important that everyone who is particularly vulnerable gets the vaccine as soon as possible, there are currently no plans to make the vaccination mandatory.
Myth #4: People who are vaccinated don’t need to wear masks and socially distance anymore
While being vaccinated significantly cuts people’s risk from developing serious symptoms from Covid-19, studies are still inconclusive on whether people are able to transmit the disease to others. Therefore, it is vital that everyone continues to stick to the rules, especially since most people who have been vaccinated only had one out of two jabs, meaning they haven’t acquired full immunity yet.
Myth #5: Now that we have a vaccine, the pandemic will be over soon
While vaccines are an important tool in our fight against the virus, there are still many unanswered questions. For example, it is unknown how long immunity from the vaccines will last and whether they can protect us from future variants caused by mutations. Furthermore, the vaccine rollout is slow and uneven, meaning it will take a long time until every person in every country has access to a vaccine. Either way, it is pretty clear that the pandemic will not just end overnight.
Myth #6: The vaccine contains a microchip tracking device
Last but not least, this is one of the many Covid-19 related conspiracy theories which have been spreading rapidly across social media. According to this claim, the Covid-19 pandemic is a cover for implanting trackable microchips into people. It also claims that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is behind it. There is currently no evidence to support this claim and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation told the BBC back in May 2020 that the claim was “false”. Nevertheless, the conspiracy continues to be shared and recently an image claiming to depict a “5G chip” was widely shared in Italy. According to the image, this chip was injected into Covid-19 vaccines. However, it turned out to be nothing more than an electric circuit of a guitar pedal.