The Ten Myths of Nigeria’s COVID-19 Vaccine

On the 2nd of March, the first batch of Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from India landed in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. About 3.94 million doses of the vaccines arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe Internal Airport making it the third country to receive vaccines under COVAX, a global scheme to provide free vaccinations across the world. As […]

On the 2nd of March, the first batch of Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from India landed in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. About 3.94 million doses of the vaccines arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe Internal Airport making it the third country to receive vaccines under COVAX, a global scheme to provide free vaccinations across the world. As expected, the arrival of the vaccines was met with much scepticism and trepidation by Nigerians (surprisingly, both the learned and unlearned) with so many people weaving conspiracy theories about why government was trying so hard to vaccinate Nigerians. We are generally a distrustful country as I learned from the woman who weaved my hair yesterday. As she drew line after line on my scalp, she argued with me on the subject of vaccination.

‘Hajia, they are saying that there is a chemical in it which kills you slowly. Also, I heard it makes you infertile. Besides, why would government give it to us free of charge? This same government that has turned a blind eye to Boko Haram and bandits that are killing us daily? I have lost two of my brothers to Boko Haram already. One was a soldier fa!’

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At this point, she clapped her hands, clicked her tongue and let out a long hiss.

‘I am definitely not taking any useless injection and I have warned the women in my neighbourhood not to do so either!’ Another hiss.

And while this woman may not read this particular article, over the past few weeks, I have also read and watched so many videos circulating on social media on why the AstraZeneca vaccination is dangerous as it causes blood clots and how many European countries have banned its use. This is simply not true.

Presently, there are four  approved vaccines for use worldwide: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca and they all have unique characteristics. In a WHO preliminary study (which has not yet been peer reviewed), AstraZeneca was found to have the lowest efficacy (62%-90%), while the others had their efficacy rates ranging between 92%-95%. Furthermore, the AstraZeneca Vaccine was the cheapest at about $4 per dose and therefore the enlightened ones among us have a right to be sceptical. However, the truth is, this is what Nigeria can afford. In an earlier article, ‘To vaccinate or not to Vaccinate’, I mentioned that the US had already bought all the Pfizer vaccines produced for 2021, and therefore, despite the fact that we cannot afford it, the truth is the world is not ready for us to have it.

Like they say: all fingers are not equal.

But does that make the AstraZeneca vaccine bad? Not at all! Not only has it been proven to be safe in scientific trials, the rumours that it causes blood clots have proven to be untrue as the WHO and EMA (European Medical Association) have found no significant association between the vaccines and the clots developed by the four people out of millions who have received the vaccines so far. Like every vaccine, there are bound to be conspiracy theories and myths surrounding it; here are my favourite 10.

Myth#1: If you get vaccinated, it could make you infertile. False! This is the biggest lie that is out there. This myth has been circulated since time immemorial and if my memory serves me correct, the polio vaccine was also rumoured to cause infertility too. Look at us now, years later and our population is approaching 200 million! A part of me wishes the vaccine could cause infertility, at least we would not be facing the population crisis we are battling with now. The woman who makes my hair has 10 children and lives in a one-room apartment and she is complaining about a vaccine rendering her infertile. Ikon Allah!

Myth#2: The vaccines aren’t safe because they were developed quickly. Again, false. The COVID-19 vaccines themselves were developed quickly, but the clinical trials, which examine safety and efficacy, weren’t rushed at all. In the 1980s, it took scientists so long to do this, but thanks to scientific advances we’ve made over the years, and outbreaks like MERS and SARS (which were also caused by coronaviruses), previous research was able to speed up the process.

Myth#3: Vaccines can lead to long-term effects. Another lie. With vaccines, if there is going to be a complication or side effect (like an allergic reaction) it will occur within minutes to hours of receiving the vaccine. If you do not see any serious side effects now, then we can pretty much say they are safe. Besides we and our children have been immunised since time immemorial- how has that affected us?

Myth#4: You can get COVID-19 from the vaccines. False! There’s no live virus in the vaccines, so they can’t infect you. What happens is the vaccines make our bodies produce one single protein from the virus—the protein that infects our cells. By making that protein, we prevent infection. You might have side effects like a headache or chills, but that’s because your body is creating an immune response, not because you have an infection.

Myth#5: Since I have already had COVID-19, I don’t need to get vaccinated. Another false narrative. The CDC recommends that those who have had COVID-19 still get the vaccine as there is preliminary evidence that the vaccine offers better protection than having had the virus. And so, with this information, despite having serological evidence of having developed immunity against COVID-19, I still went ahead to get my first dose of the AstraZeneca Vaccine.

Myth#6: People with underlying conditions shouldn’t get vaccinated. Hehehe! If there is anyone that needs the vaccine more, then it is those with conditions like Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases as they are especially at high risk of having severe complications from COVID-19.

Myth#7: The COVID-19 vaccines will alter your DNA. Who comes up with these lies anyway? These vaccines use messenger RNA to protect us from COVID-19 and I think that is where the rumour comes from. However, what mRNA does is to give our cells the blueprints to the factories that will build the protein to protect us from COVID-19. So, people worry that mRNA will cause the virus to go into our DNA and mutate us, but the truth is, it does not even go into the centre part of the cell where we have our DNA. Understood?

Myth#8: If I’m pregnant or breastfeeding, I definitely shouldn’t get vaccinated. Erm, actually no. The CDC believes it is fine for pregnant women to get the vaccine. If you’re pregnant and in a group that should be urgently vaccinated, like a healthcare worker, you should get vaccinated. Since the vaccine is not a live virus, you can’t pass anything to the baby.

Myth#9: People with suppressed immune systems shouldn’t get vaccinated. Another misconception. People with suppressed immune systems should definitely get vaccinated since it doesn’t contain a live virus.

Myth#10: Once I get vaccinated, I don’t have to wear masks or practice social distancing. This is totally false. Imagine you are walking around in public; how do you know who is vaccinated and who is not? And besides, no vaccine is 100% effective. This vaccine is 62-90% effective, which is an incredibly high percentage, but that means there will still be some people who won’t be protected.

Therefore, get a vaccine, wear your mask and then a few months later, when we know that everyone has been vaccinated, we can go back to life the way it was before. On a lighter note, I heard that those carrying out the vaccination exercise are now asking people: Do you want the injection or just the immunization card?

Ya Salam!