Everyone’s got an opinion about the COVID vaccine. The government isn’t always honest – can we trust it? How does it work? Is it safe? The decision is tough, but we can help. Here’s the honest TRUTH.
Is COVID that dangerous? Yes. COVID was the third highest cause of death last year, and hit Black people twice as hard. It’s MUCH worse than the flu, and symptoms can last for months or longer.
There’s a vaccine, but is it more dangerous than COVID itself?
No. The vaccines were developed quickly, but that’s because a ton of money and resources were put into them – and the technique used has been in use for over 20 years! But can’t you catch COVID from the vaccine? Or autism?
Nope. Vaccines don’t cause autism, and there’s NO COVID in the vaccine. It works by teaching our immune cells how to attack a “spike protein” like the one COVID has.
Nearly 100 million Americans have taken it so far, and less than 0.01% have caught COVID afterward. But what about side effects?
Common side effects are soreness and feeling tired. Other conditions, like blindness or infertility? NOT humanly possible. We do know that medical racism is possible, though – could the vaccine be a modern Tuskegee Experiment?
There is certainly racism in healthcare. We should be cautious. But it’s important to think about who’s behind anti-vaccine messages, too. It mostly comes from just a few shady, Donald Trump-aligned online groups. COVID has killed so many of our people – but the vaccine is one way we can protect ourselves. Make sure you know the facts when you decide whether to get yours!