fact - Like most vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccines contain fats (to protect the mRNA), salts, and a small amount of sugar. No other harmful chemicals or devices are in the vaccine.
Vitamin D supplements can prevent or even treat COVID-19, so I don’t need a vaccine.
fact - These myths began when some research studies showed higher rates of death and disease from COVID-19 in places where people have lower vitamin D levels. But these studies do not prove that low vitamin D levels are the cause of disease and death.
There is no proof that taking a vitamin D supplement can prevent or treat COVID-19.
I already had COVID-19 so I don’t need a vaccine for COVID-19.
fact - You should be vaccinated even if you had, or suspected, you had COVID-19. Experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Although rare, we know that some people have been reinfected with the virus.
Experts are still learning more about how long vaccines protect against COVID-19 in real-world conditions. In the meantime, it is recommended that people who have had COVID-19 in the past be immunized.
The COVID-19 vaccine will make me sick with COVID-19.
fact - The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain the live COVID-19 virus. This means the vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.
The vaccines teach your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes, this causes a fever or other symptoms, and this simply means your body is building protections against the virus. For most people, these symptoms are mild and only last for a short time.
It can take a week or two for your body to fully build immunity against the virus. It is possible to get COVID-19 after getting the vaccine if you are exposed to the virus before your body has fully developed immunity to the virus.
COVID-19 is no worse than the seasonal flu.
fact - COVID-19 has a mortality rate of 2.5% in Canada, making it 25 times more lethal than the flu. If left to spread unchecked, hospitals would be overrun and many more thousands of people would die. Social distancing measures and wearing masks to control the spread ensures that our medical systems can deliver care to all Manitobans.
COVID-19 appears to be more contagious and spread more quickly than the flu. Severe illness, such as lung injury, is also more frequent with COVID-19 than with influenza.
The flu can be treated with antiviral drugs. No antiviral drugs are currently approved and available to treat COVID-19.
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine will alter my DNA.
fact - COVID-19 mRNA vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way.
Messenger RNA vaccines—also called mRNA vaccines—teach our cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. The mRNA from a COVID-19 vaccine never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept. Instead, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines work with the body’s natural defences to safely develop immunity to disease.
At the end of the process, our bodies have learned how to protect against future infection. That immune response and making antibodies is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
If I get a COVID-19 vaccine, I will test positive for COVID-19.
fact - The COVID-19 vaccines will not cause you to test positive on a viral test. Once your body builds an immunity to the virus, you may test positive for an antibody test. An antibody test indicates you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus. Experts are currently looking at how COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody testing results.