Unit 3: Concerns and Myths Answered Toggle navigation

Jaqai Cherry                                                                                           11/29/21

EMT 1275

 

Title: Concerns and Myths Answered

 

Background: In the year 2020 a virus was discovered that would change the world entirely, causing everything to shut down and even putting us in quarantine which was a hard time for everyone. In late 2020 and early 2021 scientist went to work and was able to create 3 different vaccines Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson which was going to create a defensive wall against the virus. Although some people trusted the vaccine others were questioning how it works and how it will affect us and the future. My goal is to ease people’s minds about how dangerous the vaccine is and help them decide to take the vaccine giving them a chance to protect themselves instead of allowing themselves to get sick.

 

Questions and Concerns People Have:

 

I’ve done some research to answer some of the questions I’ve come across, but first, we have to see what questions some people have about the vaccine before we answer them. 

 

Question 1: How was the Covid-19 Vaccine Developed so Quickly?

 

Question 2: What are the side effects after getting the Covid Vaccine?

 

Question 3:Can receiving a Covid-19 Vaccine cause you to be Magnetic?

 

Question 4: Are Covid Boosters necessary?

 

Question 5:  Are you 100% safe from Covid-19 if you’re fully vaccinated?

 

Answers to the questions above:

 

Now that we have some questions listed from different websites, I can finally provide the answer to these questions and hope to ease your minds a little bit to help make your decision.

 

Answer#1:

According to the John Hopkins Medicine website, there are several reasons why the vaccines were developed quickly. One reason is that the technology was planned and created before the virus has spread, some vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) use mRNA technology (which Quoted by the John Hopkins website) “ that allows a faster approach than the traditional ways vaccines are made”. Countries also shared genetic information about the coronavirus which gave them an advantage of creating a vaccine.

 

Source:https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/is-the-covid19-vaccine-safe (Updated Nov 9, 2021)

 

The CDC also provides a step by step process on how the vaccines were developed, saying that the vaccines were tested in Clinical Trials which involved “ Tens of Thousands of volunteers of different ages, races, and ethnicities. Clinical Trials for vaccines compare outcomes between people who have been vaccinated and people who haven’t”. This means that although it seems like it has been a very short time since the vaccines were created, with information shared among people and with rapid testing the vaccines were created to build a wall of protection against the virus.

 

Source:https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/distributing/steps-ensure-safety.html (Updated on Sept 8, 2021)

 

Answer#2:

This question can be answered again on the CDC website and also my Annotated Bibliography when discussing the 3 different types of vaccines. The side effects after taking the first dose of the vaccine can be “ Swelling, Pain, and redness in the injected site, Fever, Headache, Tiredness, Muscle Pain, Chills, and Nausea. Rare side effects such as “ Anaphylaxis” which is a severe allergic reaction after taking the vaccine, and Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome(TTS) which may happen after taking the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that makes your blood clots have low platelets. They have also stated that “Long-Term Side Effects are Unlikely, Vaccine monitoring has historically shown that side effects generally happen within six weeks after receiving a vaccine dose”(Updated Nov 29, 2021)

 

Source: 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html#:~:text=Serious%20side%20effects%20that%20could,receiving%20a%20vaccine%20dose. (Updated Nov 29, 2021)

 

To give you further information on the side effects of the vaccine, according to the John Hopkins website located in the “Rare Side effects of the Vaccine” they state that “Myocarditis is another symptom that causes inflammation of the heart muscle and Pericarditis which is inflammation of the lining outside the heart after receiving the Pfizer Moderna vaccine” they also state that “ The vast majority of Myocarditis or Pericarditis arising and resolve quickly. Myocarditis is more likely to occur as a result of the Covid-19 infection rather than aside effect of the vaccine, seek medical attention right away if, within a few days of receiving the second injection of an mRNA vaccination, you or your child experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin near the injection site”. This means that although the vaccines are relatively safe it still is important to know what side effects come with taking the vaccine therefore when it happens you will know exactly what to do to take care of the situation.

 

Source:

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-side-effects (Posted on Nov 9, 2021)

 

Answer#3:

This question was personally a weird and funny one which is why I chose to answer this question. No, vaccines aren’t magnetic nor do they make your body magnetic either. This is further stated by the CDC website state that “ Covid-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of your injection. All Covid-19 Vaccines are free from metals” furthermore, the CDC link down below shows the ingredients of how each vaccine was made and it still implies that the covid vaccine is “Free from metals”.

 

Wired.Com (Which is another source that provides great information, the link is down below) also has a good explanation on why the covid vaccines aren’t magnetic. They first explain different types of magnets such as Bar Magnets and the Simplest Magnet to show how you can use the simplest tools such as a wire and a battery to make a magnetic current. Later on within the website in the section “Do the Covid Vaccines contain Metals” they state that “ Naomi Ginsberg, an associate professor of chemistry and physics at UC Berkeley. Potassium and Sodium are only metallic in solid form. But they are not solid as additives in the injected solution. “ The individual ions are dispersed in the solution, a liquid composed of mostly water and sparse, individual potassium and sodium ions, in addition to the activated components of the vaccine”. This means that there is no way the vaccine can make your body magnetic unless some of the ingredients are in solid form, and the vaccine is more of a liquid content so the vaccine can’t make your body magnetic.

 

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#Appendix-C (Last Updated Nov 29, 2021)

 

https://www.wired.com/story/no-covid-19-vaccines-wont-make-you-magnetic-heres-why/ (Updated June 6, 2021)

 

Answer#4:

My answer to this question would be yes, just in case the Covid-19 virus gets worse within the next year and a half, it mostly depends on how old you are and how your body is taking in the vaccine. According to Yale medicine, they state that “ The current vaccines are still effective against the variants we are now seeing, particularly for protecting against a serious illness that would require hospitalization or even death. But if the virus evolves further and there is a worse variant, the vaccine can be modified Dr. Shawn says”. The website also says that the vaccine shots “wane over time” meaning that the vaccine will wear off in a matter of time becoming less effective against the virus which is where a method called “Mix and Match boosters” where you are allowed to take one dose of one vaccine and then on the second dose you can take a shot of a different vaccine. Therefore Boosters aren’t necessary to take but highly recommended if you are afraid that the situation such as Covid-19 was to get worse within the next year.

 

Source:

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-booster (Updated Nov 19, 2021)

 

Answer#5:

My answer to this question is that it doesn’t 100% protect you from the virus, it just lowers the chances of you getting Covid-19 since the vaccine is supposed to be like a defensive wall it doesn’t get rid of the virus entirely. According to the Houston Methodist Leading Medicine “What the Numbers Say about your Risk” a doctor named Dr.Drews says that “The death rate is also much, much lower for vaccinated individuals”, the website also states that “According to the CDC data released in August 2021, Vaccinated individuals are 8 times less likely to get Covid-19, 25 times less likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19, and 25 less likely to to die of Covid-19” , Furthermore people who are fully vaccinated but still get Covid-19 are known as “Vaccine Breakthrough Cases” meaning that people who have been fully vaccinated can still show symptoms of getting the Covid-19 virus, and according to the “Mayo Clinic Health System” they state that “If you are vaccinated, the overall risk of hospitalization and death due to Covid-19 is much lower among unvaccinated people with similar risk factors” which proves that the vaccine is used as a defensive wall and not used to destroy the Covid-19 Virus, but it was created to stop it from spreading and killing off more people around the world.  

 

Source:

https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2021/aug/5-things-vaccinated-people-need-to-know-about-breakthrough-infection/ 

 

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/featured-topic/covid-19-vaccine-myths-debunked(Updated Nov 4, 2021)

 

Closing everything Together:

These questions were chosen because it seems like common questions that people ask every day about the vaccine except for the question of if the Vaccines were making people magnetic since that question was more uncommon and fun to dig deep to answer that question. This blog was created to ease other people’s minds and answer people’s questions about the vaccine, hoping to help people come to a more logical decision when deciding on whether to take the vaccine or not, In my opinion, it’s safer to take the vaccine rather than staying unvaccinated because the virus has a lower chance of infecting you and leaning closer to a new future where Covid-19 is an easier problem to solve like the flu to where if you take the vaccine that’s all you need to keep it away from infecting you and others around you. I hope this blog was able to help you make your decision.

 

Created by: Jaqai Cherry