“Vaccines modify DNA and make sterile”, “COVID-19 is less dangerous than influenza”: disinformation related to the pandemic continued to spread in 2021. Dr.r Alain Lamarre, virologist, professor and researcher in immunology at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS), debunks ten myths relating to the pandemic.
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1) RNA vaccines modify DNA
This theory claims that RNA-based vaccines, those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, would be able to modify the genes of patients.
“It’s semantics, we extrapolate from a name. It is true that a messenger RNA vaccine is indeed gene therapy, but it is a broad term. All that means is that the vaccine is based on genes, ”explains Alain Lamarre.
“Not only is there no evidence that the vaccine can modify DNA, but there is no potential mechanism that could explain it. DNA is found in the nucleus, which is an inaccessible compartment of the cell. The RNA would have to be able to access it to modify it, but this is not the case, ”he continues.
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2) Vaccines make sterile
According to far-fetched rumors, after receiving the vaccine, the immune system could attack syncytin-1, a protein necessary for the formation of the placenta, since it resembles a protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The immune system could therefore confuse them and attack the placenta.
“There is absolutely no scientific evidence that supports this,” says the virologist.
Joël Lemay / QMI Agency
Another belief, that the vaccine could attack sperm, is downright laughable, he says. “It’s nothing but a rumor. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that. ”
This myth has circulated a lot in recent months. Some groups, like Unvaxxed Sperm, even claim that the sperm and eggs of unvaccinated people will be worth gold when those vaccinated realize that the vaccines have damaged their reproductive capacity.
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3) Our immune system protects us against COVID, so we don’t need a vaccine
“It is true that some people seem able to eliminate the virus naturally, but we are not yet able to explain why,” says Dr Lamarre.
However, if you think you can fight off the virus by exercising, eating right, or taking natural supplements, you are on the wrong track, he argues.
“The immune system is a great machine, but it can’t do it all on its own. The proof, we have seen athletes in great shape die of COVID. “
4) Thousands of serious side effects have been documented, so vaccines are dangerous
It is true that serious side effects have been reported. However, billions of doses have been administered all over the world, argues the virologist.
“Myocarditis and pericarditis have been detected in young people aged 14 to 25, but it is very rare given the number of vaccines administered. In addition, the side effects are generally not fatal and can be treated. ”
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Then, the side effects listed are not always. The point is that “thousands” of side effects are “reported” in online databases without any causal link being established.
“Let’s say I got the vaccine last month and I’m having a heart attack today. A doctor might decide to report this as a side effect of the vaccine in a database. But the cause and effect link is not confirmed ”, illustrates the Dr Lamarre.
5) The survival rate is 99.998% in those under 17, so they do not need a vaccine
This statement has circulated a lot on social networks, notably in a document entitled Injecting children: are you informed?, which claims to educate parents about vaccination. Even if the information is true, the interpretation leaves much to be desired, says Dr.r Lamarre.
Archive photo, Pierre-Paul Poulin
“To put forward figures in this context, I find it futile. Yes it is rare [que des enfants meurent de la COVID-19], but it happens. There are many. We see it here and we see that in the United States, pediatric hospitals are full of children with COVID. A child who succumbs to illness is one too many. This is enough for us to take all the necessary measures to avoid it, ”insists the specialist.
He adds that there are risks for children of developing long-lasting COVID and of dragging “debilitating” symptoms.
Finally, he recalls that the other objective of vaccination of children is to slow the spread of the virus in the community.
6) We never need multiple doses of the same vaccine, so why have multiple doses this time?
“This is once again completely false, maintains Alain Lamarre. There are several, mostly vaccines that we receive as a child – tetanus, whooping cough, polio and pneumococcus – not to mention the one against the flu, which we can receive annually. ”
Some of these vaccines, such as pertussis or rotavirus, which causes gastroenteritis, require two doses in a child’s first 4 months of life. The pneumococcal vaccine is administered three times in the first 12 months of life.
Moreover, a simple search on the Web can quickly find the immunization program in place in Quebec. Do your research!
7) Flu kills more than COVID-19
“It’s just a big flu”: this statement has been circulating since the start of the pandemic. This is wrong, reminds the Dr Lamarre. “In Quebec, COVID is about 12 times more deadly than the flu,” he says.
The figures speak for themselves. In 2018, the year in which the flu was most virulent in the past decade, Quebec reported 1,044 deaths. In comparison to that, according to figures from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), COVID killed 8,478 Quebecers in 2020; this year, the death toll is approaching 4,000.
8) Vaccinated people transmit the virus as much as unvaccinated people
Recent studies have shown similar peaks in viral loads in vaccinated and unvaccinated people who contracted COVID, causing concern. The Dr Lamarre specifies, however, that studies tend to show that vaccinated people transmit less than unvaccinated people.
Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
“In general, people who are not vaccinated excrete the virus longer and more strongly than people who have been vaccinated, so they can transmit the virus for a longer time,” he explains, while recalling that the vaccine does not slow down completely transmission.
9) Vaccines are dangerous for pregnant or breastfeeding women
Alain Lamarre indicates that there is “no proof to this effect” and that, conversely, “the vaccine is strongly recommended for pregnant women, since it would be potentially very dangerous for them to catch COVID -19 ”. He adds that he has not seen any “reported adverse effects on the fetus or on the woman herself.”
Despite this, this myth is probably the most understandable, simply because the directives imposed by the various authorities in the country have long diverged.
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The point is that in the early stages of large-scale studies, such as those carried out as part of the development of COVID-19 vaccines, pregnant or breastfeeding women are usually not included, especially for reasons of security, explains Dr Lamarre.
“We are much more careful with them since we obviously do not want the fetus to be affected. This does not mean, however, that side effects are suspected in pregnant women. ”
10) There are more effective treatments than vaccines
Many drugs have been introduced as alternatives to vaccines this year. We can first think of ivermectin, an antiparasitic treatment mainly used on horses. There was also budesonide, an inhaled anti-inflammatory drug used to treat asthma, as well as colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug that has been studied in several studies, and fluvoxamine, an antidepressant.
AFP Photo
For the Dr Lamarre, we must first understand one thing: treatments are not substitutes for vaccines.
“You cannot compare a vaccine and a treatment, regardless of the treatment, simply because a vaccine is used to prevent, and therefore, to not be infected. Treatment is used to treat us if we are infected, ”he explains.
“Several of these treatments have very marginal results, we are talking about 5 to 8% effectiveness,” he continues. They are used for very specific cases, for example, with specific comorbid factors, it really does not apply to everyone, unlike the vaccine. ”