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Nicki Minaj’s claim that someone in Trinidad had swollen testicles after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine is false, according to Reuters.
Terrence Deyalsingh, the health minister for Trinidad and Tobago, said her story was inaccurate and called it a waste of time.
“There has been no such reported either side effect or adverse event,” he said during a news conference on Wednesday.
“One of the reasons why we could not respond yesterday in real-time to Miss Minaj is that we had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false,” he added. “Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim.”
Minaj, who was born in Trinidad, wrote in a Twitter post on Monday that her cousin in Trinidad refused to get a vaccine because his friend became impotent after being vaccinated.
“His testicles became swollen,” she wrote. “His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding.”
The post drew criticism from health officials worldwide. When asked about the posts, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said social media was a breeding ground for COVID-19 misinformation.
“I’m not blaming her for anything, but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis as except a one-off anecdote, and that’s not what science is all about,” he said.
In a separate post on Twitter, Minaj said she hadn’t been able to complete enough research on her own to get a COVID-19 vaccine before the Met Gala on Monday. Later, she added that she will get vaccinated to go on tour.
The White House also offered Minaj a call with a doctor to answer questions about COVID-19 vaccine safety, according to The New York Times .
“As we have with others, we offered a call with Nicki Minaj and one of our doctors to answer questions she has about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine,” a White House official told the newspaper on Wednesday night.
SOURCES
Reuters: “Nicki Minaj’s COVID-19 vaccine ‘swollen testicles’ claim is false, says Trinidad health minister.”
The New York Times: “White House offers a call to Nicki Minaj to discuss vaccine safety.”
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