Rap artist Nicki Minaj faces backlash after tweeting inaccurate information about Covid vaccines - CNBC

Nicki Minaj faced public backlash Tuesday after tweeting the day before that a friend of her cousin developed swollen testicles and impotence after getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

Minaj skipped this year's Met Gala, which enforced a vaccine mandate, saying she was avoiding public events, generally, because she has a new baby at home.

Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told CNBC.

Casadevall said that the symptoms experienced by Minaj's cousin's friend were "almost certainly" not connected to the vaccines, and the timing was just a coincidence.

She replied to a fan who noted Minaj had not made a public appearance for over a year, saying that she was avoiding travel to protect the health of her infant son.

Debunking misinformation through conversations with the vaccine hesitant is essential to building public trust, Casadevall said.

"These vaccines are extremely safe," Casadevall said, noting that the risks of the side effects from the vaccines are significantly lower than the health risks posed by the virus.