Category: English

Claim: Many Vietnamese-Americans believe that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is not as safe as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines because it only requires one shot and has a lower efficacy level.
Rating: This claim is FALSE. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is 85% effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and 100% effective in preventing COVID-19-related deaths, according to a number of health experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Claim: Many Vietnamese Americans believe that people have died after being vaccinated for COVID-19. 
Rating: This claim is FALSE. No deaths have been attributed to the COVID-19 vaccines, while more than 500,000 people have died from contracting COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reports of death following vaccination do not necessarily mean the vaccine caused the death.

Claim: Some Vietnamese-Americans believe that you do not need to get both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and that the additional second dose is unnecessary, serving to only benefit pharmaceutical companies.
Rating: This claim is FALSE. It depends on which vaccine you are getting. Three COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States, one made by Pfizer, the other by Moderna, and the third by Johnson & Johnson. According to the Centers for the Disease Control, for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, two doses are required to achieve 95% efficacy level. The first dose helps the immune system create a response against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The second dose further boosts the immune response to increase the protection to 95%. The vaccines, from all three manufactures, are also provided free of charge by the federal government; it should not cost you any money to get vaccinated.

Claim: On May 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that people who are fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 vaccine do not need to wear a mask.
Rating: This claim is TRUE. Despite criticisms from other doctors in the medical community that the new CDC guidelines are premature, the CDC guidelines is not a mandate. It merely says that those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 can feel safe not wearing a mask, because the vaccines are highly effective at protecting against COVID-19 infections. But you can still wear a mask if you want to. The CDC also recommends you follow any state and local guidelines around masking—so if a business mandates its customers wear a mask, you should follow that mandate. These new guidelines show that the key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic is more people getting vaccinated.

Claim: Some Vietnamese-Americans believe that you do not have to get vaccinated from COVID-19 if you already had the disease.
Rating: This claim is FALSE. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you get vaccinated from Covid-19 even if you have had it because scientists do not know how long natural immunity lasts. It is also rare, but possible, to become reinfected with COVID-19.