I would like to take a moment to thank the courageous frontline healthcare workers and all of the members of the support team that has continued to fight for the health and safety of our patients.  The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a great deal about the limitations and strengths of our healthcare systems.  As we have refined our process for treating patients with COVID-19, healthcare providers have worked hard to find effective treatments.  There have been many treatments investigated and few have been shown to have a remarkable benefit.  One treatment has been extremely effective and has continued to provide protection for patients.  This treatment is the COVID-19 vaccine.  I know there is controversy about the vaccine, much of which is not based on scientific research.  I would like to spend some time in this letter discussing the myths and truths surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.

1. Can I get a COVID-19 infection from the vaccine?                                                                                 No. These vaccines contain no live or weakened whole viruses.  The only viral components in the vaccine are short lengths of genetic material called mRNA.  This mRNA can only instruct cells to make a protein but cannot produce a whole virus.  You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine. Some people experience side effects from the vaccine, such as headache, muscle pain, or fever – but that does not mean you have COVID-19.  It means your body is working to build the necessary immunity against the virus, which is a good thing.  
2. Did the researchers rush too fast to make these vaccines?
   1. The U.S. vaccine safety system ensures that all vaccines are as safe as possible. There are many reasons why these vaccines were made available quickly but no shortcuts were taken in assuring the vaccines were safe. I will list several of the ways this process was made more efficient.
      • The COVID-19 vaccine technology has been in development for years, this is not new technology.
      • The genetic sequence of the COVID-19 virus was fully mapped within 6 weeks of the first infection appearing in China.
      • Due to the early evidence of the severity of this outbreak, significant funding for research was made available by companies and governments around the world.
      • Researchers quickly began sharing data to help in the development of an effective vaccine.
      • Public interest in the vaccine research allowed the researcher to quickly sign up volunteers to receive the vaccine in research trials. This overwhelming volunteerism allowed the researcher to conduct multiple trials at the same time.  This allowed an enormous volume of information to be processed at the same time.
      • When the companies recognized the vaccines were working they were able to immediately begin production of the supply of vaccines. This eliminated the delay from research to production.

3. Can the COVID-19 vaccine affect a women’s fertility?                                                                          No. There is no evidence the vaccines alter fertility in female individuals trying to become pregnant, including those using in vitro fertilization methods. The safety profiles and the way the vaccines work to prevent infection and illness from COVID-19 do not cause infertility in men or women.
4. Will the COVID-19 vaccine alter my DNA?                                                                                               No. The mRNA contained in the vaccines does not interact with the DNA.  In fact, the DNA is contained in the nucleus of cells and this mRNA is unable to enter the nucleus.
5. Is there a microchip in the vaccines?                                                                                                         No. The vaccines only contain the material needed to help the body develop an immune response to fight the virus.
6. Will the vaccine cause a positive COVID-19 test?                                                                                  No. None of the vaccines will cause a person to test positive for COVID-19.

As a frontline healthcare worker, I have seen the tragedy of this pandemic first hand.  I would like to see this crisis come to a rapid conclusion.  If we all do our part, I believe this will happen.  Please consider vaccination as your contribution to winning this battle. 

Thank you and stay well,

Philip Greene, MD, CMO Rutherford Regional Hospital