BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side has been getting a lot of questions sent to our newsroom about the COVID-19 vaccine and how it works.
Our source to verify all of these claims is Dr. Michael Mineo, chief medical officer at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital and DeGraff Medical Park.
Someone sent us a message saying, "I have heard that the COVID-19 vaccine has Penicillin in it. Is this true or false?"
"It is false that there's Penicillin in any of the COVID vaccines. The only area where that's really relevant is if you have a history of severe reaction to anything, you should still have the COVID vaccine, but with caution," says Dr. Mineo.
So we can verify that there is no Penicillin in the COVID-19 vaccines.
Mike E. asked, "Is it true that pharmacies are NOT giving COVID-19 vaccines to those with comorbidities? Where do people with these conditions go for a vaccine? Pharmacies are saying ONLY over 65."
Dr. Mineo responded: "That is correct. Pharmacies are only doing those 65 years old and greater. There's really four different groups that are getting the vaccine. There's the federal program which is vaccinating nursing homes. There is the county and the hospitals which are doing what we call Group 1A and Group 1B, people which are essentially the essential workers. The comorbid group is being done by both the state in these mass vaccination centers, as well as the hospitals, and lastly as we said, those greater than 65 are primarily vaccinated at pharmacies."
So for this claim, we can verify pharmacies are only allowing people who are 65 and older to make appointments right now.
Jeanne D. asked, "Is it true that the COVID vaccine is only good for 3 months and then you will need to be vaccinated again?"
Dr. Mineo responded: "We knew there would be concerns about that when the CDC said that quarantine guidelines could be loosened for only 90 days after receiving the COVID vaccine. That is not because it only protects you for three months. The initial studies have only lasted three months, so that's the only guarantee is protection for three months. It is our suspicion that getting both doses will give you many, many years of protection. We can't guarantee it beyond the three months because we just started giving the vaccine three months ago. So it's more a limitation of our studies than how much protection. I'm confident that one, more importantly two doses, will protect you for several years."
Which means that claim is false.
Have something you'd like us to verify, reach out on social media, or email us at verify@wgrz.com. You can also text us at 849-2200.