
Fact or Fiction? Vaccines
An epidemiologist lets us know whether five common beliefs about vaccines are true or false
Dec 12, 2022
Your HealthJaimie has been a journalist and writer for more than 25 years and has lived and worked all over the world. She began her career in Washington, DC, in the press office of the Clinton/Gore Presidential Transition and then went on to the DC bureau of the Sunday Times of London. From there, Jaimie moved to Johannesburg, where she reported for the Sunday Times of London, Newsweek and Independent News & Media — the largest local newspaper group in the country. She was also the founding editor of Africa Focus, a mining journal covering sub-Saharan Africa.
Jaimie’s work has appeared in a wide variety of publications including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Marie Claire, Glamour and O, The Oprah Magazine.
Jaimie is the mother of two children and lives in New Hampshire. When she's not working, Jaimie enjoys taking long walks with her dog Bailey while listening to books.
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An epidemiologist lets us know whether five common beliefs about vaccines are true or false
When it comes to vaccines, there’s a lot of misinformation out there. To clear up any confusion, we gave Debra Furr-Holden, Ph.D. five common beliefs and asked her to let us know if they’re true or false. Furr-Holden is an epidemiologist, dean of NYU’s School of Global Public Health and a member of HealthyWomen’s Women’s Health Advisory Council.
Fact. Keeping ourselves, our hands and our spaces clean reduces the chances that viral particles released into the air and living on surfaces that we come in contact with will enter our bodies. Our hands and cellphones, for example, are surfaces that can transfer the virus from the outside world into our bodies.
Fiction. Most vaccines have been identified as safe and effective for pregnant women by two of the nation’s foremost authorities on the health of pregnant women: the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
Ask your healthcare provider, who can give you the best information about what vaccines you should get if you’re pregnant and the timing of those vaccines.
Fiction. All vaccines go through a rigorous process of clinical trials, testing and approval or emergency use authorization by the FDA, no matter what technology is behind the vaccine development.
The Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines were created using mRNA vaccine technology. Unlike more conventional viral-based vaccines, mRNA vaccines do not require animal cells to produce them. This allowed vaccine developers to produce a safe and effective life-saving vaccine in a fraction of the time without skipping any of the necessary steps.
This resource was created with support from Merck.