Controversy Over Covid-19 Vaccine

Now that there are authorized and recommended Covid-19 vaccines worldwide, accurate vaccine information is critical for the population. The misleading information on social media makes it difficult to know trust. While legal frameworks are being reinforced to punish those spreading false information about the Covid-19 vaccine, medical experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre For Disease Control (CDC) throw more light on the Covid-19 vaccine.

If I have already had Covid-19 and recovered, do I still need to get vaccinated with a Covid-19 vaccine?

Yes, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had Covid-19. Experts do not yet know how long one is protected from getting sick again after recovering from Covid-19. Even if you have already recovered from Covid-19, it is possible although rare-that you could be infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 again. If you were treated for Covid-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, you should wait 90 days before getting a Covid-19 vaccine. Experts are still learning more about how long vaccines protect against Covid-19 in real-world conditions. CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

Can a Covid-19 vaccine make me sick with Covid-19?

No. None of the authorized and recommended Covid-19 vaccines contains the live virus that causes Covid-19. This means that a Covid-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with Covid-19. There are several different types of vaccines. All of them teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes Covid-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building protection against the virus. It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes Covid-19) after vaccination. That means it is possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.

Will a Covid-19 vaccine alter my DNA?

No. Covid-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. There are currently two types of Covid-19 vaccines that have been authorized for use in the United States: messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and viral vector vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines, which teach our cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. The mRNA from a Covid-19 vaccine never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept. This means ...