Covid-19 vaccine myths busted by Toowoomba healthcare staff

Why was the vaccine developed so quickly? Do the vaccines alter your DNA? Toowoomba’s top medical minds have answered every question, and myth, there is about the Covid-19 vaccine. SEE THE ANSWERS

Darling Downs Health has responded to some of the most common fears revealed in the survey around the Covid-19 vaccine.

Why was the vaccine developed so quickly?

It may seem vaccines were developed quickly, but researchers around the world have been working hard to develop vaccines from the start of the pandemic.

Covid-19 vaccines have been developed without compromising quality, safety and effectiveness.

They have been able to speed up development of vaccines thanks to the collaboration between them, scientists, manufacturers and distributors.

In addition, research into how to respond to a pandemic has been occurring long before COVID-19.

This research looks at data from previous coronaviruses such as SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, giving researchers a head start when it comes to building the COVID-19 vaccines.

Will the vaccines cause long-term, currently unforeseen health problems?

The Therapeutic Goods will not approve a vaccine for use in Australia unless it is safe and effective.

Do the vaccines alter your DNA?

No, COVID-19 vaccines do not alter your DNA.

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine uses a fragment of messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct your body to make an immune response against COVID-19.

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines teach the cell how to make a protein that triggers an immune response specific to COVID-19.

The vaccines work with the body’s natural defences to develop immunity to disease.

The vaccines don’t work.

Both the Pfizer (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria) and Moderna (Spikevax) vaccines are very effective at preventing people from severe illness, hospitalisation and death if they catch COVID-19. Clinical trials of both vaccines also indicate their effectiveness is very good.

As other countries around the world progress with their rollouts, more and more data is becoming available that shows these vaccines are both highly effective when it comes to a real world situation.

Why would I get the vaccine? I am young and healthy, my immune system will keep me safe.

COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease. Just because you’re fit and healthy doesn’t mean you won’t experience long-standing consequences from infection.

I think the vaccines are designed as a form of population control and have already killed a large number of people.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective way to reduce deaths and severe illness from infection. Millions of people have now received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring ever conducted in Australia.

Three COVID-19 vaccines are currently in use in Australia – Comirnaty (Pfizer), Spikevax (Moderna) and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca).

To be registered for use, these vaccines must meet the TGA’s high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness.

Like all medicines, COVID-19 vaccines may have some side effects (also known as adverse events).

The overwhelming majority of these are mild and resolve within a few days. More serious side effects can occur after vaccination but are very rare.

The TGA closely monitors reports of suspected side effects to the COVID- 19 vaccines and provides regular updates on vaccine safety in this report.

Importantly, suspected adverse events reported to the TGA are often not caused by the vaccines. The protective benefits of vaccination against COVID-19 far outweigh the potential risks of vaccination.

Were the vaccines created using foetal material?

These and other vaccines were developed using cultured cells, and these cell lines have been used for many decades. Some cell lines used in research did derive from fetal cells, but these were not created for COVID research.

Are there microchips in the vaccine made by Bill Gates to track my movements?

None of the COVID-19 vaccines in development contain software or microchips. They cannot be used to track people. It’s normal to have questions or concerns, and possibly feel hesitant about getting a vaccine. That’s why we’re providing accurate, evidence-based answers to

questions about COVID-19 vaccines.