Chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead” that rapper Nicki Minaj’s claims about COVID vaccine side effects were not accurate.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Popstar Nicki Minaj tweeted yesterday that she’s not vaccinated. She’s doing her own research. Then she shared an anecdote I found rather unbelievable about alleged side effects that her cousin’s friend supposedly experienced in Trinidad. I wouldn’t normally even ask you about this, but Nicki Minaj has nearly 180 million followers on Twitter and Instagram combined. She’s beloved by her fans. She’s a huge talent. Her tweet was seized upon by vaccine opponents as some sort of evidence. I want you to address what she said because for anyone out there who has any questions about this, Dr. Fauci, is there any evidence that the Pfizer, the Moderna, or the J&J vaccines cause any reproductive issues in men or women?”
Fauci said, “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.”
He added, “There is a lot of misinformation mostly on social media. And the only way we know to counter mis- and disinformation is to provide a lot of correct information and to essentially debunk these kinds of claims which, you know, may be innocent on her part. I’m not blaming her for anything, but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis except a one-off anecdote. That’s not what science is all about.”
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
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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