Some of the misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines | Loop Jamaica - Loop News Jamaica

Since the onset of the creation of COVID-19 vaccines, misinformation about the life-saving drugs has been widespread on social media platforms, driving fear and mistrust among not only some Jamaicans, but among other persons globally.

The falsehoods via social media have caused many Jamaicans to become reluctant to take any of three brands of COVID-19 vaccines on offer in the island, namely AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

In June of this year, a testimony by United States medical doctor, Sherri Jane Tenpenny, before Ohio state legislators, went viral on social media after she claimed the COVID-19 vaccines allowed people to become magnetised.

Of course, that information was and is false, as COVID-19 vaccines contain no metallic material.

Sadly, some doctors, including Tenpenny, from some international jurisdictions, have been part of the a steady stream of "spurious claims" about the COVID-19 vaccines, according to a 2021 report by the non-profit Centre for Countering Digital Hate.

The report referred to those doctors as being part of the "Disinformation Dozen", a group of "top super-spreaders of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation", which also comprised anti-vaccine activists and people known for promoting alternative medicine.

In Jamaica, the Dr Christopher Tufton-led Ministry of Health and Wellness has been working overtime to counter vaccine misinformation with numerous media advertisements and vaccination tours led by the minister and Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The constant view held by many Jamaicans is that the COVID-19 vaccines were developed more quickly than others, making them unsafe, which is a common false belief held globally.

The relative speed with which COVID-19 vaccines were developed is attributable to several factors, such as advancement in the areas of science.

The methods that allowed for faster vaccine production had been in development for over two decades prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, scientists and researchers have explained since the development of the first vaccines last year.

"The knowledge gained through past research on coronavirus vaccines helped to accelerate the initial development of the current COVID-19 vaccines," US CDC said in an article published by the AAFP.

Added to the speed of the vaccines too, is that different phases of vaccine clinical trials were carried out at the same time, instead of successively, as is customary.

The development of COVID-19 vaccines were also done in accordance with "strict international standards", the CDC has long said, which has been echoed locally by the Jamaican health authorities.

Where viruses are used to make coronavirus vaccines, the virus cells are deactivated and have not been proven to cause infection, the CDC, officials from the WHO, and Jamaican health authorities have said in numerous media briefings debunking vaccine falsehoods.

Actually, they all recommend that those who had COVID-19 get vaccinated against it, as evidence indicates that vaccines offer better protection against re-infection than previous infection.

Another falsehood and common misinformation relative to the COVID-19 vaccines is that those inoculated with the anti-COVID drug do not need to wear masks or practise social distancing.

Tufton and Bisasor-McKenzie have been constantly encouraging Jamaicans who are fully vaccinated to observe the COVID-19 protocols, including mask wearing and social distancing protocols.

Some of those myths surrounding COVID-19 vaccines.