JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The COVID-19 vaccine has been at the center of a lot of misinformation. It is a problem doctors are working hard to quell.
Baptist Health Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Dr. Elizabeth Ransom said one myth she hears a lot is that the vaccine will give the patient COVID-19.
“You can’t get COVID-19 from the vaccine," Ransom said. "The vaccine doesn’t have the virus in it. The vaccine has a messenger RNA."
Messenger RNA is a type of genetic material that produces the spike protein from which the body will develop resistance.
Another common myth is the belief that the vaccine has harmful ingredients.
“There’s always a concern that there might be mercury," Dr. Ransom explained. "That was a concern in vaccines from long time ago and other sorts of harmful substances, and it’s just not true."
One concern people have that Ransom does understand is the speed with which the vaccine was developed. However, she said the process was still done with efficiency and with safety as the highest priority.
“No corners in safety was taken," Ransom said. "In fact, this was a large study 44,000 people participated in this study so the safety profile is really good."
Ransom explained researchers were able to speed up the process because there had been work already looking at messenger RNA vaccines.
Another major concern people have are potentially harmful side effects from taking the vaccine.
“There similar to side effects you get from other vaccines," Ransom said. "The most common is that there’s sensitivity at the injection sight and in your arm most people have a little bit of that."
Ransom said it appears the second dose of the vaccine could cause a person to be fatigued, have muscle aches, or headaches.