January 26, 2021 BY LAURA
NATHAN-GARNER
Myths and misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines may
be impacting the decisions you make about whether to get vaccinated – or what
to do once you’ve gotten the vaccine.
To help separate fact from fiction, we asked our medical
experts to weigh in on several common myths and misconceptions surrounding the
COVID-19 vaccines.
1. Myth: You shouldn’t get a COVID-19
vaccine if you’re currently receiving cancer treatment.
Fact: After carefully reviewing all
available data on these vaccines, MD Anderson medical experts have determined
that both vaccines are safe and recommended for current and former cancer
patients.
“There are no safety concerns about vaccination for
patients who are currently receiving cancer treatment, but the vaccines will
likely be more effective if timed in coordination with your treatment
schedule,” says Welela Tereffe, M.D.,
chief medical executive. “Your oncologist can help you decide when the right
time is to be vaccinated, to maximize the chances that you'll get the full
benefit of the vaccine.”
If you’re currently receiving chemotherapy, immunotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy, stem cell transplants or
are enrolled in a clinical trial, check
with your provider about vaccine appointment timing. Patients who have recently
had surgery should wait for 2 weeks after their surgery date to receive the
vaccine.
All other patients can go ahead and schedule a COVID-19
vaccine appointment without contacting their provider for further guidance.
2. Myth: I can’t spread COVID-19 to
others once I’ve been vaccinated.
Fact: “While we know the vaccine will
protect against COVID-19 disease, we
don't know yet whether it will protect against asymptomatic transmission of the
coronavirus, which would allow you to pass on the virus to another individual,”
says infectious diseases specialist David Tweardy, M.D.
“Our national COVID-19 vaccine supply is still limited
right now and not everyone around you will be able to get vaccinated right
away,” adds Tereffe, “so until all of us have the opportunity to be vaccinated
and reach a level of herd immunity, masking, hand washing
and social distancing are
the best ways to keep everybody else safe.”
3. Myth: The Pfizer and Moderna
vaccines contain a live coronavirus that can make me sick.
Fact: “Both of these vaccines use mRNA
technology. The vaccines do not include a live virus,” says Kris Mahadeo, M.D., medical director of
Pediatric Stem Cell Therapy/Cell Therapy.
“You may experience side effects of the vaccine, but
you're not going to get the actual virus from the vaccine.”
4. Myth: The vaccines were produced
too quickly to be safe.
Fact: “Medical experts were involved
in every step of the development of these vaccines,” says Tereffe. “No corners
were cut in their development or the trials that showed that they worked.”
She notes that in order to be authorized by the Food and
Drug Administration, a vaccine has to be at least 50% effective at preventing
symptomatic infection. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective at
preventing symptomatic infection.
“Using mRNA for vaccines to prevent viral infections has
been studied for years,” adds Tweardy. “Part of the reason researchers were
able to develop these vaccines so quickly is because COVID-19 is caused by a
coronavirus similar to SARS and MERS, and researchers were able to build upon
previous work creating mRNA vaccines for these viruses as they searched for a
vaccine against COVID-19.”
5. Myth: You don’t need the second vaccine
dose.
Fact: “If you’re getting the Moderna
or Pfizer vaccine, you need to get both doses. The data from the clinical
trials for these vaccines established that the second dose really achieves a
much higher level of protection than the first dose alone,” says Tweardy.
The Pfizer vaccine is delivered in two separate doses
that are given 3 weeks apart. The Moderna vaccine is delivered in two separate
doses given 4 weeks apart.
6. Myth: The vaccine will cause you to
test positive for COVID-19.
Fact: “If you take the vaccine and you
don’t have a COVID-19 infection, you should not test positive for the
coronavirus on a PCR or antigen test since this inactivated vaccine does not
contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” says employee health specialist Elizabeth Frenzel,
M.D. “If you take a COVID-19 test and it’s positive after your first dose or
second dose of vaccine, you have an active infection and may have been exposed
to someone with the coronavirus.”
She adds that any time you test positive for COVID-19,
stay home and contact your health care provider for guidance.
7. Myth: You don’t need to get
vaccinated if you’ve already had COVID-19.
Fact: “If you’ve been diagnosed in the
past with COVID-19, we recommend that you still get the vaccine because the
vaccine will help to boost your immunity even further than the infection
itself,” says Tweardy.
He adds that if you had a symptomatic COVID-19
infection, make sure you recover and finish your quarantine before getting the
vaccine. If you were given monoclonal antibody therapy or
convalescent plasma as a treatment, you should wait 90 days before receiving
any COVID-19 vaccine.
8. Myth: The COVID-19 vaccines will
alter your DNA.
Fact: “The mRNA vaccines do not change
or affect your DNA,” says Tweardy. “These vaccines teach your cells to produce
proteins that train your immune system to create antibodies that help the body
fight off infection. They don’t interact with your DNA at all.”
9. Myth: The COVID-19 vaccines have
severe side effects.
Fact: “The side effects for the
COVID-19 vaccines are very similar to those that people experience when they
get the flu shot. If you've had
the flu shot and you've done OK, you'll probably do just fine with the COVID-19
vaccine,” says Tereffe.
She adds that people who receive the vaccines may
experience some short-term side effects, such as arm pain, fatigue and
headaches right after the injection.
“More serious side effects are rare,” says Tereffe. “In
a very small number of people, a serious allergic reaction could happen after
vaccination. But so far, the number of people who've had this kind of reaction
is very small, compared to the millions of people who've now been vaccinated.
The benefits of getting the vaccine far exceed the risks of having an allergic
reaction, especially for those at high-risk for severe infection, such as
cancer patients.”
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