Rumor circulating online says COVID-19 vaccines cause severe allergies.
An official from the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP) has dismissed this unfounded information.
“More than a million people in the UAE have been vaccinated and no one has ever had an allergy,” said Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary of Health Centres and Clinics Sector at MoHaP, who also serves as Chairman of the National Committee for the Implementation of the Provisions of International Health Regulations and Prevention of Pandemic.
In a report by Gulf Today, Al Rand also advised to trust the health authorities and the government on the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out to protect the health and well-being of the public.
He defended that some vaccines might have been produced at such a rapid pace, but they underwent succinct clinical trials and would not have been approved if they were not safe.
“The vaccine is safe according to studies and clinical trials, there are no complications,” he explained.
Al Rand also the elderly and people with chronic diseases to get the jab because “they are among the groups most vulnerable to complications caused by coronavirus.”
For those who have survived COVID-19, the antibodies they developed from the disease cannot guarantee that they can be protected from coronavirus reinfection for a long time, he stressed.
“Another rumor that a person who has been infected with coronavirus does not need the vaccine is also not true because the doctor is the one who evaluates it on the basis of an antibody test, then determines whether the person needs a vaccine or not.”
He added: “If the infection is mild and without symptoms, the vaccine is given directly, but if it is moderate or severe, and requires hospitalization, immunity test must be done first, and then the vaccine is given according to the case and according to the evaluation of health care providers.”
The health official warned the public not to fall prey from other baseless information amid infodemic surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, as they are intended to cause unnecessary fear.
This includes fake news that COVID-19 vaccines have a coded chip, or that it affects fertility.
Although he said pregnant women are not advised to take the jab.
MoHaP earlier warned purveyors of fake news that their acts would be dealt with seriously under the UAE law.
Photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
