At least one in three Americans say they will not get a COVID vaccine when it becomes available to them.
One myth floating around is a vaccine will make you test positive. A COVID-19 vaccine will not make you test positive for a current COVID infection on a viral test. However, you could test positive on some antibody tests if you develop an immune response.
Myth No. 2: I don’t need a vaccine if I’ve already had the virus. If you’ve already been sick, you can still benefit from a vaccine. This protects you both from getting sick again or becoming a carrier.
And the last myth: herd immunity, or the idea of letting the virus infect as many people as it can until it runs out of people to infect, is better than vaccination. An institute at the University of Washington says for herd immunity to be effective at least 13 million people will have to die globally of COVID-19 and 1 million in the U.S.
“So that’s important that people still be mindful of getting their vaccines,” said Dr. Ketan Pandya, Emergency Department Medical Director for TEAMHealth.
Even as vaccines have started rolling out, for now, the best protection is still …
“Being a good citizen, wearing your mask, socially distancing yourself if you’re feeling sick or just avoiding large crowds, frequent hand-washing, all those things will continue to be important,” Pandya said.
One of the most common myths is vaccines give you the virus. While vaccines do protect you, they do not infect you.