COVID-19 Vaccines: Myths vs. Facts

Several myths have circulated regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Brookings Health debunks some of the most common falsehoods. 

MYTH: The COVID-19 vaccine makes women infertile.

FACT: The COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t affect fertility. The COVID-19 vaccine encourages the body to create copies of the spike protein found on the virus surface. This helps the body’s immune system learn to fight the virus that has the specific spike protein on it. 

A false report circulating on social media caused confusion, claiming the coronavirus’s spike protein was the same as the syncitin-1 spike protein involved in the growth and the attachment of the placenta during pregnancy. The false report claimed the COVID-19 vaccine would cause a woman’s body to fight the syncitin-1 spike protein and prevent pregnancy. The two spike proteins are completely different and distinct from one another, meaning the claim is scientifically implausible. 

Natural COVID-19 infections have not been linked to infertility nor increased miscarriage rates. During infection, the body creates the same antibodies to the spike protein as the vaccine does. As such, if COVID-19 affected fertility, pregnant women infected with COVID-19 would have an increased miscarriage rate.

MYTH: The COVID-19 vaccine changes your DNA.

FACT: No COVID-19 vaccine affects your DNA. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are designed to help the body’s immune system fight COVID-19. The messenger RNA (mRNA) from the vaccine never enters the cell nucleus where DNA is kept, meaning it cannot interact with or affect DNA in any way. The mRNA instructs the cell to make a protein to trigger an immune response. After the cells have finished using the instructions, they quickly break down the mRNA. 

MYTH: All COVID-19 vaccines were developed using fetal tissues. 

FACT: Pfizer and Moderna vaccines do not require the use of fetal cell cultures in order to produce the vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine did require the use of fetal cell cultures to produce and manufacture the vaccine. 

MYTH: Getting the vaccine gives you COVID-19.

FACT: None of the COVID-19 vaccines use the live virus that causes COVID-19. However, an individual could experience symptoms, such as fever, after getting the vaccine as the body builds immunity. It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.

MYTH: The vaccines implant microchip tracking devices.

FACT: There is no vaccine microchip or tracking device. 
The vaccines will not track people nor gather personal information into a database. This myth started after Bill Gates’ comments about a digital certificate of vaccine records were misconstrued. 

Use trusted sources for information about the COVID-19 vaccine. Visit brookingshealth.org/Vaccine for the latest information.