Infections Archives

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes We're now in year 3 of the COVID pandemic and much of the world is moving into a "live with it" mode, or calling COVID endemic. The flu, for example, is endemic, that is it's always there and can be a nuisance or make you very sick and even kill you if you're at high risk. Living with it does not mean we surrender to it or to "let it rip". It means acknowledging it's always going to be there and adjusting to that fact by using the tools at our disposal. Those tools are much greater now than when this virus first raged around the world. Table of contentsWhat Are Our Tools?COVID Vaccine Myth #1 We Don't Know Enough About the VaccinesMyth #2 Vaccine Rollout was Too FastMyth #3 COVID Vaccines Can Damage Your HeartMyth #4 COVID Vaccines Cause Breast CancerMyth #5 Vaccines Contain GrapheneMyth #6 The COVID Vaccine can Cause InfertilityMyth #7 There are Magnets in COVID VaccinesMyth #8 Vaccines Don't HelpMyth #9 COVID Vaccines Change your DNAMyth #10 It's been shown that 12,000 Have Died from COVID ShotsWrap Up My related articles you might enjoy What Are Our Tools? Currently available tools include antiviral medicines, antibody infusions, vaccines, and avoidance strategies like distancing and masking when appropriate if you or a loved one are at high risk for serious COVID. Many people have a lot of skepticism about the vaccines, and rightfully so given the flip flopping on pandemic guidance from national leaders. Here I will address some of those misconceptions in order to help you make an informed decision about COVID vaccines. So, in no particular order, here we go... COVID Vaccine Myth #1 We Don't Know Enough About the Vaccines We don't know enough about the vaccines. That myth is false... but somewhat true. As time goes we will continue to learn, but we know a lot already. The initial studies on the vaccines involved 43,000 and 30,000 participants for the Pfizer and Moderna shots. Since then worldwide over 10 billion doses of all different brands of vaccines have been given. In the USA alone that number is almost 550 million doses. Myth #2 Vaccine Rollout was Too Fast The vaccines did come out fast, but the research for mRNA (messenger RNA) has been going on for nearly 20 years. The rollout was nothing short of amazing. Early on researchers were already investigating the genome of the Corona virus and were working on ways to develop a vaccine. The typical vaccine undergoes phase 1,2, and 3 studies before rollout. In the case of the pandemic, those phases were all done simultaneously making it seem very fast. No steps were skipped and all appropriate testing was done. In what seems almost like divine providence, the vaccine components were chosen based on the likelihood of the it actually working and the vaccine manufacturers and researchers got it right the first time. Once that was discovered they immediately began manufacturing vaccines before they knew it was actually as good as it was. That is what helped make the vaccine rapidly available. Myth #3 COVID Vaccines Can Damage Your Heart No, but they can rarely cause temporary inflammation. This is what is known as myocarditis or pericarditis. It tends to occur in young males between 12 and 30 years of age. There were some large studies looking at 2 million vaccine doses. There were about 50 cases and no one died. Most of them were treated with outpatient monitoring, some were treated in the hospital for observation and some were in the ICU, again, for closer observation. Myocarditis and pericarditis from can feel like chest pain or shortness of breath. It occurs in about one in 50,000 doses of the vaccine. Despite that, it is still considered to be very safe, and safer than getting serious COVID. One thing you should know is that if you get serious Covid and you're in the hospital you will have at least some degree of myocarditis and pericarditis, and inflammation of everything else. Myth #4 COVID Vaccines Cause Breast Cancer False. The vaccines do not cause breast cancer, but they can cause enlarged lymph nodes in the arm pit on the side the shot was given. This is due to local inflammation and reaction to the vaccine. The lymph nodes go away within a few months. For this reason it is recommended that you delay getting your mammogram for a few months after your last vaccine. The enlarged nodes can show up on mammogram and result in further testing and even biopsy to be sure. No cases of cancer have been documented from COVID vaccines. Myth #5 Vaccines Contain Graphene False. See this article. Graphene is not in any COVID vaccine. However, graphene is being researched as a very useful molecule/drug transporter and may play a big role in medication delivery within the body in the future. It's not a digital tool to report on you either. Myth #6 The COVID Vaccine can Cause Infertility False. The vaccines do not cause infertility. See this article. That came from a since debunked connection between the genetic code for syncytin-1, a placental protein, which shares some similarities with the genetic code for the COVID spike protein. The theory was that vaccine induced antibodies may cross react against the placenta. However, further studies did not verify that. It does not cause the placenta to have problems attaching to the uterus. You should know that COVID disease can cause problems in the placenta, making pregnancy a high risk condition for having serious COVID, hence the recommendation of vaccines for pregnant women. Myth #7 There are Magnets in COVID Vaccines False. What else is there to say? There are no magnets in any vaccine. There are videos online purporting to show spoons sticking to an arm after a shot. The vaccine is comprised of the liquid carrying agent and the spike protein mRNA and...no metallic fragments. We don't have the technology for making liquid magnets to inject into your arm. You can make a spoon stick to many places on your body due to friction, heat, moisture of the skin, etc, etc. Don't you remember as a kid making a spoon hang off your nose? Myth #8 Vaccines Don't Help Also false. Vaccines do help by reducing hospitalizations and ICU admissions and deaths significantly compared to the unvaccinated. Compared to the vaccinated with a breakthrough case, the unvaccinated are much more likely to land in the hospital or the ICU and die. Myth #9 COVID Vaccines Change your DNA False. COVID vaccines do not get into the cell nucleus where your DNA resides. It uses cellular machinery to make spike proteins that your immune system then recognizes as foreign and begins to make antibodies against the spike protein. Then the mRNA vaccine rapidly disintegrates. Because is a very fragile molecule you are not allowed to shake the vial, only swirling is allowed or it may break down before use. Myth #10 It's been shown that 12,000 Have Died from COVID Shots Nope, not even close to accurate. There is a website called the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) where patients and doctors and medical personnel can report suspected side effects from any kind of vaccination. If you think you have a side effect from any vaccine this is where you would go to register that. However be aware that this is not an investigative site, it's only for reporting suspicions. The FDA and the CDC monitor this looking for general patterns that might indicate a problem. None of these cases have been vetted or investigated to see if there is any actual cause and effect. Someone also claimed there were over 12,000 deaths from COVID vaccines on this site. If you look at the website, there were 12,000 reported deaths for ALL vaccinations over the last 30 years. Just because it is on there doesn't mean there's a real cause-and-effect connection. So if you had a flu shot and the next day died of a heart attack, you could go to the VAERS and report a death from the flu shot. That doesn't mean your report is accurate. Cause and effect takes a lot of investigating to verify. Wrap Up The US Department of Defense is working on a universal SARS-Corona vaccine that will bring added benefit to all, see this article here. I hope this has answered some of your vaccine questions. If not, shoot me a question and I'll do my best to answer you. To Your Good Health, Dr. McCurry My related articles you might enjoy How to Help Morning SicknessCOVID Vaccine MythsAboutHEART INFLAMMATION, VACCINES, AND COVIDPediatric Heart MurmursIs There a UTI Vaccine? Join my Substack Newsletter