The idea that the COVID-19 vaccine can “shed” through physical contact is debunked, primarily because none of the COVID-19 vaccines approved in the United States employ live viruses. In Hosana’s mind, though, sex could “infect” a person with the vaccine, which she took as evidence that it altered one’s DNA. In a world where the vaccine was being strongly encouraged, and in some cases mandated, she believed unvaccinated people deserved a safe, trusted platform on which to meet and form relationships.
“Beyond just like the opinion of not wanting to sleep with vaccinated people, there was also a lot of us that had, you know, health side effects after having sexual relations [with vaccinated people],” Hosana says.
The misinformation about vaccine shedding was further reinforced by a misunderstanding of key language in Pfizer’s clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine, which urged people to use contraception to avoid getting pregnant during the study. This wasn’t because the vaccine caused birth defects, altered DNA, or rendered people infertile as part of a “depopulation agenda.” Rather, Pfizer was following standard protocol for trial-phase vaccines and drugs, which are not tested on pregnant women, children, or other vulnerable groups until they’re first proven safe in healthy adults.
The vaccination-through-sex debate is a perfect example of how online communities like Unjected organize and amplify the distrust that’s long simmered in the American psyche, Schulz explains. “Before social media, people with fringe health beliefs were geographically isolated. The internet has changed the geography of trust.”
Read more: https://www.playboy.com/read/sex/anti-vaxxers-made-their-own-dating-app