- Jose M Jimenez Guardeño, Researcher in the Department of Infectious Diseases, King's College London
- Alejandro Pascual Iglesias, Health Research Institute of the La Paz University Hospital (IdiPAZ)
- Ana María Ortega-Prieto, Postdoctoral research associate, King's College London
- Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Álvarez, Postdoctoral research fellow, National Center for Biotechnology (CNB – CSIC)
- Javier Cantón, Professor of Coronavirus Biotechnology, International Campus for Security and Defense (CISDE)
- José Angel Regla NavaScientific Research. Emerging viruses, La Jolla Institute for Immunology
- Jose Manuel Honrubia Belenguer, Researcher, National Center for Biotechnology (CNB – CSIC)
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, more than 82 million people have been infected and nearly 1.9 million have died. Today, a year later, we are experiencing one of the worst moments of the pandemic, and achieving herd immunity naturally is not a viable option, given Sweden's attempt. Furthermore, the virus does not appear likely to disappear on its own.
Fortunately, for the first time since the start of the pandemic and thanks to the unprecedented effort of scientists and laboratories around the world, we have something that has helped to defeat other infectious diseases in the past: vaccines.
Until now, most people eagerly awaited the COVID-19 vaccine. However, now that several vaccines have been approved and vaccination campaigns have begun in various countries, some groups view vaccination with doubt and distrust.
Having doubts about what you don't know is completely normal and is one of the driving forces behind science. However, these doubts can lead to misinformation and hoaxes that spread like wildfire on social media, sometimes with good intentions, sometimes with bad. Therefore, and because the best antidote to misinformation is truthful and verified information, we have created the following guide explaining most of the hoaxes we have found about COVID-19 vaccines.
1. “Messenger RNA vaccines will modify our genome”
False. To date, and with our current knowledge of molecular and cellular biology, there is no evidence that messenger RNA vaccines can modify our genome, and there are several reasons for this, including:
- Messenger RNA degrades very easily and doesn't give it time for almost anything.
- Messenger RNA does not come into contact with DNA.
- The RNA in vaccines does not integrate into DNA.
- So far, no trace of any coronavirus has been found in our genome.
2. “They were done too quickly”
The speed at which the first vaccines have been designed, manufactured, and administered has been so surprising that it has caused skepticism about their safety. The reality is that all the usual protocols and phases in these procedures have been followed. Furthermore, all the results of the clinical trials are public and available for consultation. The main reasons why these vaccines have been developed faster than others are the following:
- A wealth of information exists about similar viruses. The SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV coronaviruses have been known since 2002 and 2012, respectively, as well as their genetic structure and the role of common coronavirus proteins.
- Pre-existing vaccine prototypes are being used. For example, the Oxford and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are based on adenoviruses that have already been used in other vaccines, such as the Ebola virus vaccine.
- There is overlap in the clinical phases. Phase 1 and phase 2 studies have been conducted in parallel to determine, among other things, the ideal vaccine dose and the duration of immune memory in volunteers.
- Large-scale manufacturing of millions of doses has begun before receiving approval from regulatory agencies.
- An unprecedented economic investment has been made by both public and private institutions.
- It has been easy to get thousands of volunteer citizens.
3. “Vaccines are not safe”
False. The approved vaccines have undergone the entire normal vaccine development process, including a preclinical experimental phase in animals and the various clinical phases I, II, and III. Furthermore, after approval, they enter phase IV, or pharmacovigilance, in which their safety continues to be studied. To date, millions of people have already been vaccinated, and no serious adverse effects have been detected that would call their safety into question.
4. “A nurse fainted right after getting vaccinated”
A video has gone viral on social media showing a nurse named Tiffany Dover fainting during a press conference minutes after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a US hospital. Some sources even claim that the nurse died shortly after being vaccinated.
It is true that the nurse fainted during the press conference. However, the nurse herself clarified in a subsequent interview that she suffers from what is known as vasovagal syncope, which can cause her to faint in response to a triggering factor such as seeing blood, certain pains, a blow to the foot, a vaccination, or high emotional stress.
5. “The COVID-19 vaccine makes you HIV positive”
Some time ago, the Australian government announced the suspension of the development of one of its vaccines due to false positives for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) during phase 1. However, this has nothing to do with the approved vaccines and has a good explanation:
The appearance of false positives for HIV occurred because the vaccine being developed in Australia used a small fragment of an HIV protein to give greater stability to the coronavirus protein that was going to act as an antigen (the S protein).
The problem is that, in this case, the immune system of vaccinated individuals, in addition to generating antibodies against COVID-19, also generates antibodies against HIV because it recognizes that small stabilizing fragment as something foreign that must be fought against.
And wouldn't generating antibodies against HIV be a good thing? Not really, because it's known that this response doesn't prevent infection, but it could interfere with HIV diagnosis, producing false positives. Ultimately, false positives for HIV would occur because in these tests, a positive diagnosis relies on identifying the presence of HIV antibodies.
6. “Vaccines contain cells from aborted fetuses”
False. Several videos circulating on social media claim that cells from aborted fetuses are being used to research COVID-19 vaccines, generating considerable controversy. However, the reality is that fetuses and embryos are not used in the production of medicines or vaccines.
What is used at some point during the development of some of these potential future COVID-19 vaccines are cell lines derived from very specific human tissues from decades ago (some will be derived from fetuses, others from various cancers or tumors, for example). Cell lines are cells of a single type (especially animal cells) that have been adapted to grow continuously in the laboratory and are commonly used in research.
This can be confusing, but it's important to emphasize that working with a 'cell line' is not the same as working with the original cells. Furthermore, these cell lines are primarily used in the preclinical phase of vaccine development to conduct laboratory tests. Therefore, none of the vaccines currently in development contain cells from aborted fetuses.
7. “The UK variant has appeared because they were the first to be vaccinated”
False. The UK began its vaccination campaign on December 8, becoming the first Western country to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine (the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine). However, the variant identified in the UK had been circulating since at least September, long before vaccinations began.
8. “If we’ve been vaccinated, we can go without a mask and live a normal life.”
No. First, immunization occurs in two stages (two doses), and both must be completed for full immunity. Second, antibody production and cellular response take time. Furthermore, this latency period varies between populations and even from person to person. Therefore, we should not consider ourselves immune to the virus prematurely and expose others to it.
On the other hand, what has been described so far is that vaccines can prevent the symptoms of COVID-19, especially the most severe ones, but it hasn't been thoroughly investigated whether vaccination can prevent infection. Therefore, what we know so far is that vaccination protects us from the disease, but we can still become infected and infect others . That's why it's important to continue with protective measures: masks, handwashing, social distancing, and good ventilation, especially during this first year of vaccination.
9. “Why should we get vaccinated if it doesn’t protect against infection and we can still spread it?”
It is not yet known whether the vaccine protects against infection, but it is known to prevent the most severe forms of COVID-19. For many, this may seem insignificant, but it is a very important step. Preventing the most severe symptoms of the disease can prevent the healthcare system from collapsing and thus avoid many deaths. Furthermore, the fact that it has not yet been studied whether the vaccine protects against infection does not mean that it does not. Various animal models have shown that some vaccine candidates can protect against infection.
10. “Pharmaceutical companies keep their processes secret and don’t publish the data.”
False. The development of the various vaccines approved to date has undergone a rigorous process in which absolutely all the data from each stage has been published. We've had everything, including press releases, detailed reports, and articles published in prestigious journals. Here you can consult the data for the Pfizer/BioNTech , Moderna , and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.
11. “Getting vaccinated can give us COVID-19”
False. The adverse effects of vaccination are the usual ones for these treatments: fever, joint pain, or fatigue. These are also some of the nonspecific signs and symptoms of COVID-19, obviously to a much lesser degree. Furthermore, the approved vaccines only use certain genes or proteins of the virus to generate an immune response. Therefore, there is no possibility of becoming infected simply from the vaccine.
12. “Vaccines don’t work because some people get vaccinated and still get infected.”
To achieve greater protection with approved vaccines, two doses are required with a time interval between them. For example, the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine provides 52.4% protection against severe COVID-19, increasing to 95% after the second dose. Furthermore, the body always needs a few days after vaccination for an immune response to develop. Therefore, people can become infected during the period between doses, and there will always be a 5% of people for whom the vaccine is ineffective. This is a very small number compared to the 95% of people who will be protected.
13. “If we get vaccinated, we could become sterile.”
False. To date, there is no scientific evidence that either the virus or the vaccine interferes with hormone metabolism at dangerous levels or with the development of tissues necessary for reproduction.
14. “Scientists use the phrase 'there is no evidence' a lot because they have no idea.”
False. In science, the phrases "there is no evidence," "the results suggest," "it is possible that," and "it appears that" are used because scientists talk about what is known and do not rely on opinions or beliefs. For example: "Is it possible that tomorrow the sun will explode into a thousand pieces and destroy all known life? Well, so far there is no scientific evidence that this will happen."
15. “They want to use us as guinea pigs”
False. The vaccines have successfully passed all the necessary phases for safety evaluation. Furthermore, millions of people have already been vaccinated, and no adverse effects have been found that would cast doubt on their safety.
16. “They implant a chip in you with the vaccine”
False. Some social media posts claim that Bill Gates will put a chip in the vaccine that will allow for tracking people. This hoax originated from a video in which Bill Gates discusses the possibility of using digital certificates with some vaccines using microparticles in the future, something that has nothing to do with any microchip. Furthermore, it is currently not possible to implant any chip with the vaccine. Besides the main component (messenger RNA), the vaccine consists of salts, lipids, and sugars.
17. “I don’t need to get vaccinated because I’ve already had the disease.”
False. The various research groups still do not have enough data to answer how long protection lasts for those who developed antibodies after having the disease.
18. “The vaccine contains luciferase”
False. Luciferases are proteins widely used in laboratories because they are harmless and have the ability to glow under certain conditions. They are generally useful for visualizing reactions during laboratory experiments because they are very easy to detect. However, none of the approved vaccines contain luciferases.
19. “It’s best to wait and see what happens”
False. The benefit of the vaccine far outweighs the risk of any adverse effects. The probability of becoming infected with the virus, spreading it to others, becoming ill, and developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, even leading to death, is greater than any potential side effects of the vaccine. In this case, the saying "the cure will be worse than the disease" does not apply; that is why it is so important that we get vaccinated, to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
20. “5G is the cause of the coronavirus and it will get worse with the vaccine”
False. During the pandemic, it was widely reported that countries with the highest number of 5G antennas had the highest incidence of COVID-19. This was quickly disproven because the same correlation was not observed in Asian or African countries. In fact, 5G is proving to be a significant advancement in medical practice rather than a detriment to our health.
21. “Why get vaccinated against a virus that 'only' kills 1% of those infected?”
Seen this way, 1% might not seem like much, but it's an enormous number when we're talking about lives and millions upon millions of infected people. Would we go into a room with 99 other people knowing that one of them is going to die instantly? Talking about numbers is easy when it doesn't directly affect us.
22. “Nobody is revealing the 'recipe' for vaccines”
False. Due to recent and understandable public concern about vaccine safety, companies and the FDA have made all vaccine components publicly available, like an ingredient list, for everyone to consult. Here you can find a summary of the ingredients in the main vaccines, or here are the ingredients in the Pfizer vaccine. In short, aside from the main component (messenger RNA, for example), the vaccine consists of salts, lipids, and sugars.
23. “Vaccines don’t work because the virus is mutating”
False. It is true that viruses mutate because that is how they evolve. However, coronaviruses are among the RNA viruses that mutate the least because they have error-correcting activity that corrects errors as the virus multiplies. Even so, mutations and variants are very common, and new variants will continue to appear.
The vaccines currently available are based on the complete SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S). Within this protein are several sites that trigger an immunogenic response. A variant with a specific mutation might alter one of these sites, but not all of them. The vaccine covers more areas and will remain effective within the required ranges.
Furthermore, mutations don't always lead to the emergence of serotype variants. In other words, even if they have a different sequence, these changes aren't large or significant enough for our immune system to recognize them as something distinct, as a new serotype. To date, no distinct serotypes of the COVID-19 virus have been identified, but we must remain vigilant in case this happens. If it does, the vaccines would simply need to be updated.
24. “If masks and social distancing are effective, why get vaccinated?”
Protective measures are essential to reduce the likelihood of infection, but they are not enough to prevent the virus from continuing to spread. The goal of vaccines is to generate herd immunity that will allow us to return to normal, something that is not yet possible.
achieved through health measures.
From: https://theconversation.com/guia-para-desmentir-24-bulos-sobre-la-vacuna-de-covid-19-152603