There have been a lot of really wild conspiracies floating around ever since the COVID vaccine became available. Luckily, I’ve done the research, so you don’t have to.
People are dying from the COVID vaccine.
True or false?
Let me start off by saying that no vaccine is 100% effective; you can be vaccinated and still be positive for COVID. However, being vaccinated can prevent you from getting the worst of COVID-19, like hospitalization and death. But even those who get COVID despite being vaccinated are few and far between.
The New York Times says that, of course, there will be breakthrough cases or those who have been vaccinated but still catch the virus. Of those cases, 10% of patients were hospitalized, and 2% died. The median age of those that died was 82 years old. In California, out of 17.5 fully vaccinated people, 5,732 breakthrough cases have been recorded. This is a rate of 0.032%.
The vaccine can’t be trusted because it was made so quickly.
True or False?
There’s this idea that just because this vaccine was developed quickly, that it’s not as safe as other vaccines. The issue is that other vaccines take so long because they must wait years for funding. The COVID vaccine had access to nearly unlimited resources while it was being created. No phases were skipped in the making of the vaccine. In fact, Pfizer and Moderna used a method to create their vaccines that had been in development for years before we faced the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the pandemic began, China quickly isolated the COVID genetic information and shared it so that scientists could begin working on vaccines as soon as possible. Some vaccines were made using mRNA, which allowed a quicker process than other vaccines.
Social media helped researchers to find volunteers who were willing to get the vaccine early during test trials. COVID-19 was also so widespread and highly contagious by the time that vaccines were being created that it didn’t take long to see whether it worked on volunteers who were vaccinated.
If you’ve had the virus, you don’t need to get the vaccine.
True or false?
Just because you had the virus doesn’t mean you’re immune from getting it again. There is a chance for reinfection. There is no hard evidence for how long you have natural immunity against the virus, so it would be beneficial to get vaccinated to protect yourself.
Black people can’t get the virus.
True or False?
There was a thread when the outbreak first started around March 2020 that black people were not getting the virus. In actuality, communities of color are disproportionately affected by the virus. More people of color are more likely to get sick and die from COVID-19. Social determinants have historically stopped these individuals from having opportunities for economic, physical, and emotional health. Poverty, chronic health conditions, and healthcare access are significant factors influencing many individuals’ quality of life and health.
The majority of “essential workers” live in communities that are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Essential workers are at greater risk of contracting the virus and are largely representative of racial and ethnic minority groups.
-Kaitlan Darby
Kaitlan Darby is a graduate of UL Lafayette. She has a B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in promotional management. She is a publicist, writer, and aspiring actress. She is the founder of Black Mamba Creative, which is her creative arts/services outlet.
Instagram: @blackmambacreative
LinkedIn: Kaitlan Darby
Website: https://www.blackmambacreative.com
