Let’s Debunk 5 Common Health Myths

Earlier this month, rapper Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to share a story she’d heard from her “cousin in Trinidad” about a purported side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine.

What resulted was “#ballgate”: an intense, albeit brief, cultural and media moment which at once prompted some of the rapper’s fans to join anti-vaccine protests and American and Trinidadian health authorities to investigate and scramble to counter this latest strain of COVID-19 misinformation.

Unfortunately, this falsehood is far from the only popular medical myth. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we all share a responsibility to keep our communities healthy and a huge part of that is not spreading falsehoods about the threats to our health. Whether it's about COVID-19 or a host of other illnesses, medical misinformation can keep us—especially young people—from taking the steps necessary to stay healthy.

Here are five popular medical myths to watch out for and the medical truth you should know.

Myth: COVID-19 Vaccines Can Make You Magnetic.

Fact: None of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States contain metal of any kind and will not make you magnetic.

They do however contain common household ingredients like salt, sugar, vinegar, various fats and even alcohol.

Myth: The COVID-19 Vaccine is Untested and Can Negatively Impact Your Health

Fact: COVID-19 vaccines have gone through extensive safety testing in multiple clinical trials with thousands of individuals. ^[https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html]

Data from the vaccine clinical trials that occurred before the FDA’s emergency use authorization, and the nearly 390 million doses of these vaccines administered since December 2020, show that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh any potential harms. COVID-19 kills 1 in 100 people who contract it^[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html] and leaves 1 in 3 with long term health conditions like difficulty focusing, low energy, and trouble breathing.^[https://health.ucdavis.edu/health-news/newsroom/studies-show-long-haul-covid-19-afflicts-1-in-4-covid-19-patients-regardless-of-severity/2021/03] On the contrary, vaccines prevent between 71% and 93% of cases^[https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7038e1.htm] and side effects—other than fever, aches and pain at the vaccination site, which generally go away within 3 days—are extremely rare.^[ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html]

Myth: Only “Girls” Need to Get the HPV Vaccine

Fact: Everyone, regardless of biological sex, can carry and spread the Human Papillomavirus if not vaccinated.

HPV or the Human Papillomavirus is a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection which causes Cervical Cancer in as many as 500,000 women a year. 270,000 women die of this disease every year. People of all gender identities are individually susceptible to contracting HPV and potentially spreading it to others. When all of us get vaccinated, we help to stop the spread.

Myth: The Flu Is Nothing More Than a Bad Cold, So I Don’t Need to be Vaccinated Against It

Fact: Colds don’t kill people but the flu does—as many as tens of thousands of people die from the flu every year. So you should get your flu shot every year.^[https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/myths-and-facts-about-influenza-for-consumers/]

Getting an annual flu vaccine not only protects the individual getting the vaccine, but their whole community. Like COVID-19, older and immunocompromised people are particularly susceptible to harm from the flu and getting vaccinated can help to protect them and you.

Myth: I Don’t Need to Worry About Meningitis or Meningococcal Disease

Fact: While rare, Meningococcal disease is highly contagious and often deadly, even for adolescents and young adults.^[ https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/meningitis-myths-and-facts/]

Meningococcal disease is caused by a bacteria which can cause meningitis, a brain and spinal cord infection with serious health complications, blood stream infection, and death. Young people and college students living in dorms are at an increased risk of contracting it. Especially concerning is that Meningococcal Disease is often misdiagnosed as something less serious—like a cold—because the symptoms are similar to other viral illnesses. The disease, which spreads through droplets in the air, can kill or permanently harm otherwise healthy individuals in 24-48 hours.

While Meningococcal disease is preventable with vaccination, fewer than half of young people are fully vaccinated against meningococcal disease — many because they’ve only completed part vaccination series.