There is a looming controversy regarding the COVID-19 vaccination; many misconceptions arise from this controversy and they are spreading fast. 

One common misunderstanding is that the vaccine puts a live version of coronavirus into your body. With this, one may be fearful that they will be sick with the virus after getting the vaccination. 

According to cdc.gov “Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines contain messenger RNA (mRNA) and the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine contains a harmless version of a virus unrelated to the virus that causes COVID-19.” 

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines carry an RNA messenger to show your body what the virus looks like so it can develop antibodies for it. A different vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, puts a disabled adenovirus, that is not COVID, into your body which essentially does the same thing as an RNA messenger.

Another common misconception is that the vaccine alters your body in any way that is not what you would expect. According to cdc.gov, the vaccine does not make your body magnetic nor does it put any sort of mechanical device into you. It also does not have any effects on fertility or any other things that are not in your immune system.

“Viral vector COVID-19 vaccines deliver genetic material to the cell nucleus to allow our cells to build protection against the virus. However, the vector virus does not have the machinery needed to integrate its genetic material into our DNA, so it cannot alter our DNA.” 

People often misinterpret that the vaccine prevents you from getting COVID. The vaccine protects you from the dangerous effects of the virus meaning you can get it, but you are less likely to be hospitalized and less likely to get lasting symptoms. If you have had COVID-19 before, the natural immunity will not protect you nearly as much as a vaccination would. According to cdc.gov, “…of people who already had COVID-19, those who do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more than 2 times as likely to get COVID-19 again, compared to those who get fully vaccinated after their recovery.”

There is no harm in getting vaccinated. It is not dangerous, it will not change your molecular structure, and most importantly it keeps you and everyone around you safe. Get vaccinated if you can because if you do not, you are putting yourself at risk.