Covid19 / Omicron has resulted in a great deal of anxiety and has often made underlying anxiety / depression based conditions worse. The various myths that have become prevalent have simply made things worse. This page dispels many of these myths to help ensure that you are seeing things are they really are, rather than buying into a false threat.
Myth: The vaccine contains tracking chips
Firstly microchips capable of location tracking are not small enough to get through the needle of a syringe and even if they were, they would require a large power source to transmit location data. Secondly, if the governments of the world wished to “track us” they already have the means to do so via our mobile phones and in-car devices.
Myth: Covid is spread by 5G signals
This is a biological impossibility. 5G simply refers to invisible radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, or radio waves, that are used to allow mobile phones to communicate with networks faster than was the case with 4G networks. Covid19 on the other hand is a physical virus and if enough of them were present in one place they would be visible.
Myth: 5G increases our susceptibility to Covid
5G radio waves are very weak when compared with other radio waves and natural radiation sources we are surrounded by all of the time. There is no evidence that exposure to 5G radio waves has any adverse effect on health. Even when measured right by a mast, the EM radiation levels of barely 1.5% of the maximum levels permitted by Ofcom. Your broadband router emits more EM energy that you will receive from 5G masts. Feeling anxious without reason in the presence of a 5G mast however, could well have an impact on health.
Myth: The vaccine will make people infertile
None of the claims made by the video in circulation are true. None of the vaccines currently being developed differentiate between male and female test subjects, which is the key claim made by the video. There are no chemicals in any of the vaccines currently approved for use that could have an impact on fertility.
Myth: A vaccine has been around for years
Vaccines do generally take years to develop and approve. The vaccines being introduced right now are all based on existing vaccines repurposed for consideration as a vaccine against Covid19. There were no guarantees of success and it seems that a number of the vaccines will be effective. In terms of safety the concepts behind the new vaccines have all been around for a while and a number of similar vaccines have been in use for some time.
Myth: Vaccines cause autism
There is absolutely no connection between vaccines and autism. The doctor responsible for this false rumour faked the data in his published paper as demonstrated by later studies, which found no such relationship. As a result, he has been stripped of his medical license and the journal that originally published the paper has retracted it. The true causes contributing to autism are a matter of ongoing research. The MMR vaccine has been eliminated from that search.
Myth: Masks & face covering are pointless
Masks and face-covering do have a role to play, if nothing else to reduce the amount of material that a contagious person expels when coughing. As with many viruses, a large initial dose can mean more rapid onset and worse symptoms overall. Clearly, the better the mask the more material will be blocked.
Myth: 6 People died as a result of the Pfizer/BioNTech trial
Yes – 6 people did die. However, 4 of them were in the control group that did NOT receive the vaccine. The main trial involved 43,448 people including those with underlying health issues. The remaining 2 deaths were not found to be due to the vaccine but due to natural causes and that is to be expected in any large group of people over time. The average mortality in the USA is 8.3 out of 1000. The mortality rate in the trial group was substantially less than that.
Myth: Masks cause cancer and tooth loss
Medical personnel have been wearing masks for decades without an increased risk of cancer and without more tooth loss than the rest of the population. Mask wearing does not reduce oxygen intake but can feel uncomfortable and can be anxiety-provoking for some.
Myth: Covid was created by the pharmaceutical industry
The Wuhan lab is not part-owned by Bill Gates but does receive funding from a variety of sources including the Gates Foundation. Bill Gates does not own Covid19 vaccine patents. In any case there is no evidence that Covid19 originated in a lab in Wuhan or anywhere else. The vast majority of scientists are in agreement that the virus is not man-made. It does not need to be, it is quite easy for viruses to mutate in the wild. The WHO is investigating the evolution of Covid19 to determine where the outbreak originated and which animal population was involved. The source may or may not be in China.
Myth: RNA Covid-19 vaccines will change your DNA
Introducing minute fragments of mRNA has absolutely no effect on your DNA. They simply help your immune system to produce Covid19 specific antibodies. Equally, this type of vaccine is not part of an alien master-plan to make us easier to digest / breed with / enslave!
True: A very small number of recipients experience significant side effects
As with all medications (including paracetamol etc) some people will experience side-effects. Mostly these will be minor such as an elevated temperature. Others may have an allergic reaction to some of the substances used in the vaccine to stabilise it and for others it may be a psychosomatic reaction caused by anxiety, which in turn is caused by the anti-vaccine movement.
A recent claim that a woman developed sores on her feet having taken part in a clinical trial is false. The individual was in the placebo group and received nothing more than saline solution. The sores on her feet were probably due to high doses of the pain meds she used to control debilitating back pain.
The recent case of 2 recipients that developed an anaphylactoid response is true. However, both patients had long histories of severe allergic responses and carry epi-pens with them at all times. Rare allergic responses are inevitable and to be expected. The same is true of even the most mundane of things such as shampoo.
Why bother if the death rate is so low?
It is true that a relatively small number of Covid19 patients die from the disease. However, this is not the whole picture. Covid19 spreads through communities much more easily than Ebola for example. This means that vastly more numbers of people are infected which means that substantial numbers of people will die and even more will be debilitated, some permanently. The Covid19 global death toll so far stands at more than 1.5 million people. In contrast, the last Ebola outbreak claimed 28,616 lives globally.
What do some people get out of spreading these rumours?
In a minority of cases they may actually believe that what they are claiming is true. They may be subject to a psychiatric illness that predisposes them to latch onto even the most unlikely conspiracy theories. They can be quite grandiose and can attract dedicated followers.
Others do not believe that what they are saying is true, but like the attention and exposure they get. Sometimes they enjoy manipulating others and are amused when they are able to generate mass anxiety. In private they are quite literally laughing at their unwitting victims.
Be careful about what you choose to believe. Remember Occam’s razor – the simplest reason for something is generally the most probable.
Would I have the vaccine myself?
Very much so – I am fully vaccinated and was at the head of the queue. I did experience some side effects and viewed as being a positive sign that my immune system was responding well and generating antibodies.
Further Reading
FDA Briefing Document: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (Page 41 details the 6 deaths during the trial’s reporting period, 4 of which received the placebo)
How Facebook (very badly) helps to combat Covid19 misinformation