Myth Busters: Vaccinations

By Brandon Swenson January 31, 2021

What to Know about Vaccines and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19

Vaccinations are an important tool in the fight against disease, but they’ve also become one of the most hotly contested. At Grantham University, we’re committed to both the education and health of our students, so we looked to one of our own faculty members to learn more.

Dr. Janet Andrews, who has a master’s degree in biology and a PhD in biomedical sciences, has immunology and virology research experience and is an adjunct professor in our College of Health Professions. She is also a strong proponent of educating (or reeducating) people about the importance of vaccinations, understanding that we’re currently facing a climate of mistrust and misinformation surrounding how vaccines (and the COVID-19 vaccines, in particular) work.

Andrews says that, these days, it’s easy to become complacent about the impact that vaccines can have on keeping large populations healthy in spite of the presence of dangerous (and contagious) disease.

“When you go back through history and the major outbreaks—smallpox, polio, influenza,” Andrews says, “they’ve claimed so many millions of lives. And I think we live in a time where we have ceased to really grasp the magnitude that communicable diseases have on human populations.”

Here are some of the most common questions and myths about vaccinations and what you need to know.

Myth: Vaccines can cause the condition they seek to treat

Vaccines cannot give you the disease they’re designed to prevent. But if you’ve ever felt unwell after a flu shot, you might feel skeptical.

Andrews notes that vaccines don’t work immediately: It can take a few weeks to develop immunity, leaving you vulnerable to those diseases while your immune system learns to fight them. She also says that some people simply have slight reactions to getting vaccines because they are, after all, a foreign substance. But those are short-lived.

Myth: Vaccines can cause allergic reactions

They do happen, but they’re also very rare. Andrews says that with the COVID-19 vaccines, allergic reactions occur once in every 500,000 to 1 million people.

“Is that a risk? Yes,” Andrews says. “But we know the risk from getting the virus itself.”

And that virus has a death rate of one in 100 people.

“Don’t be afraid,” she says. “The risk is actually—compared to getting the virus itself, it’s miniscule.”

Myth: Vaccines contain dangerous preservatives

Andrews says this has been another concern for some who fear that by getting vaccinated, they may also be introducing other unknown or dangerous ingredients into their immune systems. She is confident that vaccines approved by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) are safe and do not contain any ingredients at levels that could harm you.

Still, in the COVID-19 vaccines, it’s a moot point because they’re preservative-free. Because they use mRNA (messenger RNA) to help your body learn to fight coronavirus, they need to be stored at very cold temperatures to keep the fragile mRNA stable—and that eliminates the need for preservatives.

Myth: If I haven’t felt sick, I can’t get people sick

One of the most difficult aspects of fighting this coronavirus is that about 50% of people who are carriers of the virus are asymptomatic but infectious. That means that half of the people who get COVID-19 don’t show any signs of being sick and feel perfectly healthy—but are, in fact, still spreading the disease with anyone they come in contact with.

Andrews reminds us that the coronavirus is ten times worse than the worst influenza strain:

“Think about the worst influenza strain, the one we saw back in the Spanish Flu [which is estimated to have killed about 50 million people between 1918 and 1920]. This one is ten times more lethal,” she says.

Myth: I don’t need to wear a mask after getting vaccinated

Unfortunately, this isn’t true. In order to ensure that the vaccination efforts are as effective as possible, we need to do anything we can to slow the spread of the virus through continued physical distancing, mask wearing, and proper hygiene practices.

It’s also important to remember that the reason guidance regarding masks changed over time is that we were still learning about the virus. As more information became available about how the disease works—and how it spreads—our understanding of how to fight it also changed.

Myth: I only have to get the COVID-19 vaccine once—or not at all if I’ve already been sick

Even if you’ve already tested positive for the virus and have recovered (or had no symptoms at all), most research suggests that any immunity that results from getting COVID-19 only lasts three to six months.

“We’ve all got to do our part,” Andrews says, adding that experts are hoping for a 90% vaccination rate across the country to help ensure the spread is controlled.

Scientists anticipate that the coronavirus vaccine will become a standard annual practice, just like the flu shot. Andrews explains that because we’re already seeing mutations in the COVID-19 virus, it’s likely that the vaccines will also need to be adapted to new strains.

Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe because it was developed so quickly

To help protect financial investments in vaccine development, most companies take the process one step at a time. If the first-phase research and trials are successful, they move on to the second phase, and then the third, and then the fourth.

But because time was of the essence, companies like Pfizer and Moderna took the risk to work on all four at once—knowing that any one of them could fail and the investment in the other three would be wasted.

And it paid off! The effective rates are phenomenal across the forty or more companies worldwide who have worked on the same vaccine.

“For those of you who might be hesitant about getting the vaccine, this is the safest we’ve ever had.”

Who should I talk to about vaccines?

Talk to your healthcare provider about vaccinations and any concerns you might have. And when you’re online, remember that rumors and misinformation can spread fast: Try to find information that has been verified by multiple reliable sources. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) are two good places to start.

For more information about obtaining a COVID-19 vaccination in your area, contact your state, county, or local health departments for availability and eligibility requirements.

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And if you’re interested in pursuing a career in the health care sector to support vaccination programs and other public health initiatives, consider a nursing or health professions education! Grantham offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs; find the right one for you.