Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci shot down Nicki Minaj’s wild Twitter claim that COVID-19 vaccine side effects include swollen testicles and impotence.
The 38-year-old femcee made the scientifically unsupported claim while explaining her absence from the 2021 Met Gala, according to the New York Post.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied,” Minaj wrote.
Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, asserted that there there isn’t any evidence that Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines affect reproductive systems.
“The answer to that, Jake, is a resounding no. There’s no evidence that it happens — nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen, so the answer to your question is no,” Fauci told CNN anchor Jake Tapper.
In the very next tweet, Minaj said, “I’m sure I’ll b vaccinated as well cuz I have to go on tour,” dispelling any notion that she’s categorically opposed to getting jabbed.
Fauci acknowledged that Minaj’s tweets were “innocent.” But he added that she should be think carefully about what posts in relation to the pandemic, given the tens of millions she reaches with her social presence.
Minaj doubled down. In response to one tweeter who said, “The vaccine doesn’t prevent getting covid, it prevents you getting serious symptoms,” she wrote, “That’s not true. I had the exact same symptoms as ppl with the damn vaccine.”
According to the CDC, “Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalizations, and death.”
