Northwell Health Debunks Ten Vaccine Myths

Northwell Health Debunks Ten Vaccine Myths: With the New York State Department of Health entering Phase1b of the COVID-19 vaccination plan, which will open vaccinations to 3.2 million non-health workers, Northwell Health, parent of Northern Westchester Hospital, recently distributed the article, COVID Vaccine Side Effects and Other Common Myths Debunked. The article, penned by Bruce Farber MD, Chief of Infectious Diseases, at Northwell Health’s North Shore Hospital in Manhassett, addresses ten common myths expressed by many Americans who are hesitant to get vaccinated. The article specifically centers on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Was the vaccine “a rush to judgement?” Dr. Farber points out that the “fast-tracked” Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine included over 20,000 participants – a number “on par with the median number of participant(s) in other non-COVID vaccine studies.” And the speed to delivery was due to Pfizer’s decision to manufacture the vaccine while trials were ongoing. It is not true that the vaccine may be risky because it wasn’t studied on enough people or long enough.

If you had COVID you don’t need the vaccine: This is so important that we will quote Dr. Farber. “With most infections, natural immunity is indeed better than immunity from a vaccine. But COVID may be the exception. While further research is needed to determine if this is true, it does not appear that having COVID produces lifelong immunity.”However, he does recommend that people with a prior history of COVID allow others first dibs on the vaccine while it is in short supply.

You can wait for herd immunity: Dr. Farber says we are “a long way off from herd immunity, which may take up to another year to 18 months to achieve.” He also points out that children and the immunosuppressed will not be eligible for the vaccine so there will be vulnerable people amongst us for some time. Verdict:. Don’t wait for herd immunity – get the vaccine as early as you can.

The vaccine is not recommended for people with severe allergies: Dr. Farber counsels that people with a history of severe allergies consult their physician before taking the vaccine. Especially anyone with a history of anaphylaxis. But it is not true that the vaccine is not recommended for people with severe allergies.

You can get COVID if you take the vaccine: Dr. Farber explains that some vaccines “contain live virus particles that have been weakened and altered. But the COVID vaccine is not a live virus vaccine.” Therefor, you can’t get COVID from the vaccine because there is no COVID in the vaccine:

And other myths: In his article, Dr. Farber reassures us all that, the vaccine will not alter your DNA; there is no microchip in the vaccine; the vaccine will not make you more susceptible to other illnesses; a flu shot does not provide immunity against COVID, and the COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory.

To better understand the science behind this vaccine, we recommend everybody click through to read Dr. Farber’s entire article.