
<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday there’s “no evidence” to support Nicki Minaj’s widely criticized claim this week that coronavirus vaccines could cause fertility problems, and the White House’s chief medical adviser on Covid-19 also said the rapper “should be thinking twice” about spreading unsubstantiated information.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>In a set of Monday night tweets, Minaj told fans she wouldn’t go to this year’s Met Gala because the event requires attendees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 — and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1437532566945341441" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a>&nbsp;her cousin in Trinidad is unvaccinated because “his friend got it &amp; became impotent.”</p>



<p>When asked about the claim on CNN, Fauci said there’s no evidence the vaccines cause reproductive issues, “nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen,” echoing messages from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/planning-for-pregnancy.html?s_cid=11351:covid%20vaccine%20and%20infertility:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.</p>



<p>Fauci said health officials have struggled to combat false information about the vaccines on social media, and suggested Minaj may not have intended to repeat questionable claims but “should be thinking twice.”</p>



<p>Earlier Tuesday, Fauci’s British counterpart — U.K.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/christopher-whitty" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chief Medical Adviser</a>&nbsp;Dr. Chris Whitty —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyTC7bnMBzQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">responded to Minaj’s tweet</a>&nbsp;by saying people who knowingly spread false information “should be ashamed.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“The only way we know to counter mis- and disinformation is to provide a lot of correct information,” Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “[These kinds of claims] 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.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Minaj drew controversy after she disclosed that she won’t get vaccinated until “I feel I’ve done enough research,” and detailed the medical and marital woes her cousin’s friend ostensibly suffered after getting vaccinated. The CDC says <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/planning-for-pregnancy.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">there isn’t any evidence</a> the vaccines cause fertility problems in men or women, and recommends vaccination for all Americans ages 12 and up — including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/health/pregnant-covid-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pregnant people</a> and anybody trying to get pregnant. Still, claims about vaccines causing fertility issues <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57552527" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/viral-vaccine-infertility-misinformation-finds-home-social-media-n1267310" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spread</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/nyregion/orthodox-jewish-vaccinations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prolifically</a> on social media, leading National Institutes for Health Director Dr. Francis Collins to tell the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/02/22/women-vaccine-infertility-disinformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Washington Post</em></a> in February he’s “worried, frankly” that unsubstantiated rumors are driving vaccine hesitancy.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it &amp; 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 &amp; make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied</p>&mdash; Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1437532566945341441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Nearly 74% of Americans ages of 12 and over are&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">at least partially vaccinated</a>&nbsp;against Covid-19, according to CDC figures, meaning millions of eligible people still aren’t inoculated. Federal health officials have cast some blame on viral misinformation. The White House has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/07/16/biden-says-facebook-tech-platforms-are-killing-people-by-spreading-misinformation-on-covid-vaccines/?sh=33559c7139f0">accused</a>&nbsp;social media platforms of failing to curb the spread of false claims, and Fauci&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/fauci-joe-rogan-covid-vaccine-incorrect-podcast-7552139d-6134-46cf-a1eb-20e12ea705ee.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">took issue</a>&nbsp;with podcaster Joe Rogan’s claim in April that young people don’t need to get vaccinated.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/09/13/rapper-nicki-minaj-skips-met-gala-over-covid-19-vaccine-requirement/?sh=7db0a9dcb510">Rapper Nicki Minaj Skips Met Gala Over Covid-19 Vaccine Requirement (Forbes)</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/02/22/women-vaccine-infertility-disinformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">False claims tying coronavirus vaccines to infertility drive doubts among women of childbearing age (Washington Post)</a></p>



<p><em><strong>By Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Tag: Nicki Minaj

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Dr. Fauci: Nicki Minaj ‘Should Be Thinking Twice’ About Sharing Covid Vaccine Rumors