Vaccines are useless against Omicron? Rumors on the March "Science Rumors List"

1. HPV vaccine can cause infertility

Rumor: Getting the HPV vaccine may prevent women from getting pregnant.

Truth interpretation:

This statement is not supported by definite evidence. The World Health Organization (WHO) Vaccine Safety Committee once summarized all the research results on HPV vaccines and infertility, and concluded that HPV vaccines are safe and have no causal relationship with ovarian insufficiency or infertility. In addition, HPV vaccines have undergone hundreds of thousands of clinical trials before they were launched on the market, and adverse reactions after vaccination are still being monitored after they are launched, including fever, headache, nausea, and injection reactions (local pain, erythema, itching, swelling, muscle pain, etc.). These adverse reactions are similar to common reactions to general vaccines and are not special. In summary, the safety of HPV vaccines is guaranteed, and vaccination with HPV vaccines will not cause infertility.

Source: Toutiao refutes rumors

2. The vaccine is ineffective against the Omicron strain

Rumor content: According to the latest assessment of the new coronavirus outbreak by British and American scientists, existing vaccines are unable to cope with the Omicron strain and newly emerging mutant strains.

Truth interpretation:

Judging from a large amount of tracking data from various countries, the existing vaccines still have a good protection rate against severe illness. Especially after the booster shot, the protection efficiency against Omicron is greatly improved. The importance of vaccination can be seen from the recent epidemic in Hong Kong, my country. As of March 18, 2022, according to the latest analysis of deaths in Hong Kong, this wave of epidemic caused 5,186 deaths, of which 88% did not complete two doses of vaccination. For people over 80 years old who have not received two doses of the vaccine, the infection mortality rate is as high as 9.97%. It can be seen that the relevant claims that "vaccines do not work" are very absurd and do not conform to the current medical consensus.

Source: Tencent

3. Raising the legs can help restore the heartbeat of a person who has suffered cardiac arrest

Rumor: Raising the legs can allow blood to flow back to the lower body, increase blood supply, and restore the patient's heart beat.

Truth interpretation:

When rescuing a patient with cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed immediately. This rumor may come from a misunderstanding of the controversy in the medical community, because in the past the medical community believed that raising the patient's legs during cardiopulmonary resuscitation may help blood return and enhance the effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. However, this method affects blood flow for a short period of time, less than 1 minute, and there is a lack of sufficient clinical evidence of its effectiveness, so since 1992, this operation has been removed from the relevant guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Although there are still doctors studying and verifying the auxiliary effect of raising the legs on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, it is often carried out in hospitals with complete facilities, and general out-of-hospital emergency guidelines do not recommend doing so because it may delay rescue.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

4. If you want to cure the disease as soon as possible, injections are better than taking medicine

Rumor content: Taking medicine takes a long time to take effect, while injections allow the medicine to enter the body directly and take effect quickly, so injections are better.

Truth interpretation:

Avoid injections if you can take it orally. Because after the drug enters the human body orally, most of them will undergo initial metabolism in the liver and then enter the blood. This can reduce the risk of adverse reactions caused by direct drug absorption and will not cause minor wounds. If oral medications have adverse reactions, the absorption of the drug can be quickly blocked by means such as gastric lavage. In addition, the small wounds caused by injections may increase the risk of infection and inflammation. Since the drug enters the human body directly, the absorption will be more direct and rapid, which may increase the risk of adverse reactions, and it is difficult to quickly clear the injected drug after an adverse reaction occurs. Therefore, injection is often only chosen when oral administration is not applicable.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

5. Money detector flashlight can detect aflatoxin in food

Rumor: Aflatoxin fluoresces under ultraviolet light and can be detected with a banknote detector flashlight.

Truth interpretation:

This so-called detection method is not accurate. First of all, in addition to aflatoxin, many bacteria, fungi, and even sanitary products and vitamin A will produce similar fluorescence under ultraviolet light. Confirmation based solely on fluorescence can easily lead to false alarms and increase anxiety. Secondly, even if food contains aflatoxin, the toxin content is often very low, and it is impossible to distinguish it with a banknote detector flashlight and the naked eye. It must be measured with a professional high-precision fluorescence photometer. In daily life, avoid storing food in a humid environment, do not eat moldy or long-stored food, and do not eat informal processed foods that lack quality control (such as self-pressed oil).

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

6. Only professional athletes are prone to meniscus injury

Rumor content: Meniscus injury is a problem faced only by professionals who engage in high-intensity sports. Ordinary people don’t need to worry about it.

Truth interpretation:

The meniscus is located at the junction of the thigh bone and the shin bone, inside the knee joint, and has a cushioning and lubricating effect. There are two menisci in a knee joint. Since the knee joint itself bears most of the body weight, the impact on the knee from many sports often reaches several times the body weight. What's worse is that most areas on the inside of the meniscus have no blood supply, and it is difficult to self-repair after injury. In addition, frequent knee bending and sudden knee extension exercises, falls or collisions may cause meniscus injuries. Therefore, we must pay attention to sports protection and do it within our ability.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

Editor:

Huang Weijia, Vice President of Medical Branch of China Science and Technology Press

About the Science Rumors List

Released by the China Association for Science and Technology, the list is reviewed by experts every month. Based on criteria such as timeliness and harmfulness, hot rumors are selected for special interpretation and pushed across the entire network.

Jointly published: Scientific rumor-busting platform, China Internet Joint Rumor-busting Platform, "Study to Strengthen the Country" learning platform

Platform support: Tencent Jiuzhen, Weibo Rumor Refutation, Toutiao Rumor Refutation, Douyin, Dad Review, NetEase Health

List of review experts (in order of the number of strokes of surnames)

Liu Yong, Researcher, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Liu Guiyang Chief Pharmacist, Fourth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

Wang Qian Chief Physician of the Third Medical Center of PLA General Hospital

Chen Peng, Vice Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, Nankai University

Han Hongwei, Director of Risk Communication Department, National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center

This article was published by the official account of "Science Rumor Refutation Platform" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source for reprinting.