HOUSTON — The VERIFY Team is working hard to make sure everyone has the facts about the COVID-19 vaccine. There are many questions and claims being made about the shot. We took them to Houston Methodist Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Dirk Sostman.
CLAIM: If you have allergies, you might have a severe reaction to this vaccine.
TRUE: “It’s very rare, but it has been seen in a couple of folks who've received the vaccine in the United Kingdom. So, we are trying in America to be very, very careful about finding out if folks have severe allergies and being very careful about selecting the vaccine and how it's administered,” Sostman said.
CLAIM: The vaccine will cause Bell's palsy.
FALSE: “A couple of folks in the clinical trial of the vaccine developed Bell's palsy, but there's nothing to indicate that it was the vaccine was responsible for it,” Sostman said.
CLAIM: There are not any known interactions with the COVID-19 vaccine and different medications.
TRUE: “We do not know of any interactions between the vaccine and medications. One does have to be a little careful with the vaccination process if you have a bleeding disorder. But that's an interaction with the with the needle and the syringe, not with the vaccine,” Sostman said.
CLAIM: The vaccine will cause you to test positive on COVID-19 viral tests.
FALSE: “This vaccine will not cause you to test positive for COVID-19, either with the molecular test or the antigen test,” Sostman said.
CLAIM: Medical experts do not yet know whether there are any long-term side effects associated with this vaccine.
TRUE: “Since the vaccine has only been studied in people for really a few months, we don't know what could happen over the course of years. One thing that we can be reassured about is that the vast majority of serious effects from vaccines occur within the first six to eight weeks," Sostman said.
CLAIM: A vaccine that is not properly refrigerated could harm the recipient.
FALSE: “If it's not properly refrigerated, it could become ineffective, but there's nothing to suggest that it would become harmful," Sostman said.
CLAIM: The COVID-19 vaccine will alter my DNA.
FALSE: “The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to your cells is one-directional. These vaccines will not alter your DNA," Sostman said.
CLAIM: The vaccine will make you more susceptible to other illnesses.
FALSE: “There's nothing to suggest that this vaccine has anything to do with your likelihood of developing other kinds of illnesses," Sostman said.
CLAIM: I will need to drink a lot of water after I get this vaccine.
MOSTLY FALSE: “It's possible, for example, to get a bit of fever after receiving this vaccine, and that might cause you to want to drink some more water. But in general, there's no need to drink a lot of water after the vaccine," Sostman said.